A MAJOR employer in Burnley has safeguarded its future in the town after expanding its current base.

Bed and furniture manufacturer Sweet Dreams has announced the purchase of a 2.5-acre site adjoining its premises at Primrose Mill.

The site will be developed into a state-of-the-art storage facility.

It will safeguard about 150 jobs at the company.

Jackie McGarvey, Sweet Dreams sales manager, said: “Being able to organise deliveries from a single site will add enormously to our efficiency.

“It will also mean we have space to expand our production operations and to create a permanent showroom.”

Currently, factored goods are stored at a second location in the town.

The investment effectively secures the long-term future of Sweet Dreams at the historic Primrose Mill site, which had been under pressure of space over the last few years as the company diversified into new product lines and extended their manufacturing facility.

The firm said that was essential, as earlier this year Sweet Dreams started manufacturing its own collection of sofas and chairs and more people were taken on at the beginning of the year as a result, taking the workforce to about 150.

Work on the new building has begun and the firm is anticipating completion by the end of 2012.