A plant nursery has been chosen to star in a national advertising campaign for a leading bank.

Hollyoak Orchids, based at Little Comberton, near Pershore, is to feature in a new Barclays business banking campaign, which highlights the importance of relationship management in the current financial climate.

Earlier this year, nursery director Tim Morris decided to name its latest orchid the Paula Mary, after his Barclays relationship manager, to demonstrate the support he has received over the last 18 months. Now the gesture and Hollyoak Orchids will appear in a series of print and online advertisements for the bank.

Paula Haycocks, Barclays agricultural business manager, said: “I’m truly honoured to have this beautiful orchid named after me, but the biggest thrill I have is watching this business continue to trade and grow in every sense of the word.

“I’m delighted that our marketing department is using one of my customers to demonstrate the importance of relationship management between a bank and its customers and I hope that Hollyoak Orchids will benefit from this national exposure.”

Mr Morris said: “We had lost over £100,000 of stock due to a rooting problem and if Paula had not stepped in and refinanced our business we may not have been here today.

“We just thought it would be a nice thing to do, but our feet haven’t touched the ground since, with reporters, photo shoots and film crews visiting the farm.”