MULTI-MILLION pound plans to expand a flagship employment hub have been revealed.

Ten new commercial units are expected to be delivered across 31 acres the Logistics North site in Over Hulton, creating hundreds of new jobs in the process.

Harworth Group plc announced this morning that it has entered into the joint venture with Lancashire County Pension Fund (LCPF) to develop the next phase of the site.

This is the seventh deal to be completed at Logistics North in the past three years, after major employers including Aldi, Lidl, MBDA, and Joy Global moved onto the site.

Most recently, Whistl took a 10-year lease on a unit at the business hub - the largest live commercial development in the North West - in January.

Cllr Cliff Morris, Leader of Bolton Council, said: “The news that a deal has been finalised to secure even more development and investment at Logistics North is fantastic.

“The site is already a huge success with a number of major companies already operating from there and this agreement will bring even more investment to Bolton and provide new jobs for our residents.

“I am confident that there will be other exciting announcements about Logistics North for many months to come.”

LCPF will fund 80 per cent of the acquisition and development costs for this new venture, with Harworth funding the remaining 20 per cent. The exact size of the investment has not been revealed.

The new commercial units will be constructed in three stages.

The first stage will see three units, ranging from 45,000 sq ft to 64,000 sq ft, constructed by the end of December 2017, with Buckingham Group already appointed as principal contractor.

The second stage will deliver six new units, ranging from 19,000 sq ft to 149,000 sq ft, during 2018.

The final 131,000 sq ft unit will be constructed in the third stage.

Ian Ball, Executive Director of Income Generation at Harworth Group plc, said: “Logistics North has established itself as one of the North of England’s leading distribution locations and we have widely explored property venture transactions to capture development management, asset management and promotion fees from its future phases to continue to grow our income base.

“This deal both crystallises our land value and provides further income-producing opportunities for the business, providing much-needed high quality industrial and logistics space in a region with a scarce existing supply.”

More than 2,000 people are already employed at Logistics North.

Richard Tomlinson, Investment Director of Real Estate and Infrastructure at Local Pensions Partnership, said: “LPP on behalf of Lancashire County Pension Fund is pleased to be working with Harworth on this exciting property development project to deliver best in class logistics facilities in its home region of the North West of England.

“By investing in the North West, the Lancashire County Pension Fund expects to benefit the local economy at the same time as delivering the investment returns required of the fund.”