TV chef Nigel Haworth has secured long-term investment for Northcote and his other eateries in East Lancashire to under-go extensions and revamps.

The Michelin star-rated chef and his business partner Craig Bancroft have been given ‘substantial’ equity interest in their Northcote Group of Companies from investors Richard and Lynda Matthewman.

The pair said they would now be able to achieve the objectives for the business they set out when they became partners in 1984.

Mr Bancroft said: “I don’t know of another head chef and manager team who have taken over their establishment and made it their own, or husband and wife board members.

“It makes a huge difference to the business because it’s personally done, we have always worked for ourselves and our hearts are in it.

“The new investment is great news for our staff, our customers, and our supp-liers.

“We will continue to grow and to better ourselves.”

Northcote, at Northcote Road in Langho, will have an extra ten bedrooms added, making it a 24-bedroom property, and a new kitchen with cutting-edge facilities will be fitted.

Northcote’s grounds will be improved and the Louis Roederer room facilities will also be expanded while care is taken to cause minimum disruption to the hotel’s running.

Ribble Vall-ey Inns, a subsidiary of the group which run The Three Fishes at Mitton and The Highway-man at Burrow, Kirkby Lonsdale among others, intend to acquire six to eight new pubs in the coming years.

Further investment will be used to maintain the group’s establishments’ successful record and continue to develop them.

Obsession 2013 food festival will be held at Northcote in January and feature such chefs as two-Michelin-starred Diego Guerrero, from the El Club Allard in Spain, and Dieter Koschina from Vila Joya in Portugal, preparing individual five-course menus.