TWO entrepreneurs from Bromsgrove are celebrating an unlikely anniversary, 12 months on from a devastating fire which threatened to close their business.

Friends David Powell, 29, and Sean Cotter, 33, launched their fashion brand, 304 Clothing, in August 2011 after completing their degrees at the University of Liverpool.

Yet last summer the duo saw their warehouse in Essex go up in flames, with the fire wiping out their entire collection worth £86,000 at cost – and a market value of £500,000.

The duo were left with nothing, but thanks to the support of their customers they were able to re-build from scratch, and are now celebrating the firm’s sixth birthday on August 12.

Mr Powell, a former student at Saint Augustines High School in Redditch, who now lives in Dodford, said: "Finding out that our entire stock holding and warehouse had burnt down was devastating.

“We thought the entire business and brand that we had worked night and day on for five years was going to count for nothing.

“Only one month prior we had our office broken into and all our hardware and extremely sentimental items were taken from us.

“We sat down and reflected on the situation and thought that if we could get through this, then we could get through anything.”

The duo rose from the ashes to begin re-selling new stock on their website within three weeks.

And this year marks a number of celebrations for the company, with a new headquarters based in Kings Norton opening and a sixth birthday this month.

Famous faces from ITV show Love Island, as well as England footballer Raheem Sterling, have also been pictured wearing their gear in recent weeks.

Mr Powell added: “We are over the moon that we are now 12 months on and find ourselves with a brand new HQ.

“Our team has doubled in size, we are on course to nearly treble our yearly turnover to £1.8 million and we are now looking to celebrate the fire anniversary and our sixth birthday rather than mourn it.”

A sample sale is being held at 18 Prince Road, Kings Norton, from 5pm to 8pm on August 16, while a special t-shirt marking the anniversary of the fire is also being sold.