A FLOURISHING food company is likely to bring a jobs boost as it expands again just two years after doubling the size of its headquarters.

Birchall Foodservice, a family-owned business with 100 employees, has bought a two-acre site next to its base, Cobalt House, on Burnley Bridge Business Park at Hapton.

The award-winning firm is thinking big thanks to business growing faster than predicted.

An obsolete two-storey office and workshop complex will be demolished for a warehouse expansion.

This surrounding land will in the short term help to ease congestion for visitor parking, along with the company’s expanding delivery fleet.

In the longer term, council chiefs expect the development to lead to jobs growth.

Birchall Foodservice had more than doubled its warehouse space by relocating to the Burnley Bridge site 30 months ago.

Managing director Justin Birchall said: “We hadn’t predicted that our growth at this stage would be as big as it is.

“We’re really pleased but we needed to ensure we have plans in place to facilitate the next stag of our growth.

“The adjacent site becoming available was extremely fortuitous and despite the challenges of tackling a brownfield site we are determined to develop this location into a positive facility benefitting the company, its employees and the community.”

Birchall Foodservice also has depots in Wrexham, Durham, Sheffield and Stafford.

The company was established in 1939. Founder George Chichester Birchall started wholesale deliveries from an off-licence in Abel Street, Burnley, in 1915.

Cllr Sue Graham, executive member for regeneration and economic development at Burnley Council, welcomed the expansion.

She said: “We are delighted with Birchall’s growth and expansion here in Burnley.

“Birchall Foodservice is a fantastic local employer which supports the training and wellbeing of employees and apprenticeships, developing young people in this industry.”

Cllr Graham added: “The Birchall expansion on Burnley Bridge will lead to jobs growth.

“Burnley Bridge, one of Burnley’s major employment sites, has attracted many new jobs to Burnley since its opening, and with the Titanium Park extension to the business park it is set to create more jobs for the town.”