A FIRM is planning a £350,000 extension and investment which will create 50 new jobs over the next three years.

First 4 Print Finishing announced it plans to create an initial 25 new jobs after council bosses agreed a special deal allowing it to buy its Whitebirk factory in Blackburn.

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The fast-expanding company started in 2003 near Blackburn Chemicals, with just eight staff, but now employs 96 with plans to hit 150 within three years.

First 4 Print Finishing began with just one folder, one stitcher and one guillotine, but now plans to add a 12,000 sq ft extension to the existing 37,000 sq ft warehouse.

Work will start this summer and is expected to take six months It has rented Unit 5 in Cunliffe Road on the Whitebirk Industrial Estate from the council since 2006 under a 10-year lease with a smaller premises nearby.

Finance director Lorenzo Fardella said the initial investment of £250,000 in the new building extending Unit 5 and £100,000 in the latest machinery would create 25 new jobs in the next year.

He hopes to see another 25 added to the workforce by 2019.

Mr Fardella was delighted that Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Executive Board agreed to the ‘special purchase agreement’ allowing them to buy their current premises and stay in the borough.

This means the factory can be sold direct to the firm without an open competition at a price agreed by an independent valuer.

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Mike Damms hailed the deal and expansion as ‘good news for Blackburn, good news for the borough, and good news for East Lancashire’.

The triple award-winning company folds, stitches and finishes leaflets and booklets, producing up to 12 million promotional items a day and fulfils about 300 million mail packs a year exporting to Belgium, France and Germany.

It is now moving more actively into the direct mail market as well as investing in the latest automated technology for its main business.

Mr Fardella said: “I am really pleased at the decision as it means we an now go-ahead with our expansion plans and stay in Blackburn. We could not have have invested in a new building without owning the factory and there were few alternative sites in the borough.

“We will spend £250,000 on the new building and £100,000 on new machinery and should be able to employ up to 25 new staff over the next few months.”

The new investment will bring both of its Blackburn operations on the Whitebirk Industrial Estate under one roof.

Mr Damms said: “This is good news for Blackburn, the borough and East Lancashire.”

Blackburn with Darwen regeneration boss Phil Riley said: “This agreement is good news for the company and the borough and shows the council’s commitment to business and investment.”