TESCO said it is prepared to “invest in the community” across Merseyside, as it continues to look for opportunities to expand.

The supermarket giant has had a busy year, opening a 528,000 sq ft chilled distribution facility in Widnes and moving forward with plans and developments across the area.

Work is under way on a new store in Toxteth – which has been described as the largest private sector investment in the area for 30 years – while a Tesco Extra store is being built alongside the new rugby league stadium in St Helens.

In August, Tesco submitted new plans to Knowsley Council to develop Kirkby town centre to replace the failed Everton FC stadium plans which were blocked by the Government. The multi-million pound plans include a scaled-down superstore alongside shops, a library and green spaces.

Lucy Neville-Rolfe, Tesco’s director of corporate and legal affairs, told LDP Business: “A lot of our investment is rebuilds, extensions and in a number of small stores. There are areas, for example Kirkby, which need major regeneration and Tesco is often at the heart of those projects. Unlike other people, we are prepared to invest in the community and so we continue to be very interested in all parts of the region.”

She was speaking in the wake of Tesco announcing a 12.5% rise in half-year profits to £1.6bn. Sales were up 8.3% to £32.9bn.

This was driven by strong growth internationally which helped Tesco overcome “subdued” demand and weak growth in the UK.

Like-for-like sales, excluding petrol and VAT, rose 0.3% in the UK in the six months to August 28.

Delivering his last set of results, outgoing chief executive Sir Terry Leahy said the retailer – which plans to create 9,000 jobs in the UK this year – was experiencing “the tailwinds of recovery”. He is being replaced in March by fellow Liverpudlian Philip Clarke, who is currently Tesco’s international and IT director.