BUSINESS park and industrial estate owner Spencer Holdings is investing £1.6m in new commercial space in Huyton.

The company has announced plans to redevelop its Chapel Brook trade park in Huyton Business Park, Wilson Road, to create more than 90,000 sq ft of trade counter, office and industrial space.

Chapel Brook, the former premises of Marconi, has a warehouse and two-storey office building.

Spencer has started re-cladding the outside of the building and developing new frontages.

Once complete, there will be 69,423 sq ft of trade counter accommodation and 2,443 sq ft of small office/industrial space.

The firm also proposes to create a new building of 20,000 sq ft on land next to the existing buildings.

Director Christopher Hughes said: “Our latest investment in Huyton is part of our stated aim to add 1m sq ft per year to the 5m sq ft of space we have across the UK.

“The Wilson Road area of Huyton has become a real hub for businesses in recent years, probably due to its superb location. Our investment here shows the confidence we have in Huyton’s continued growth.”

Spencer, which recently moved its headquarters to larger premises in Knowsley Business Park, has also appointed five new members to the team as part of a strategic plan to grow the company portfolio.

Paul Jackson, a chartered surveyor, joins the senior management team as head of construction. Jonathan Halfpenny, a chartered building surveyor, will work closely with Mr Jackson on Spencer’s refurbishment and new- build projects.

The company, which owns and manages more than 5m sq ft of space across the UK, has also taken on graphic designer Stephanie Thompson, Joe Dempsey as a property asset management surveyor, and Claudia Di Matteo as a ledger and utilities clerk.

tonymcdonough