Moran’s Retail is to invest £2.4m as part of a regeneration drive across its three North West stores.

The investment will create 25 new jobs in the family-owned and run company’s Derry city, Ballykelly and Coleraine operations.

The developments will coincide with the introduction of an innovative online system to fast-track ‘food-to-go’ ordering at www.morans.com.

In Derry, the company will next month demolish its Strand Road service station and Centra store to make way for improved customer experience. This will include increased forecourt capacity, more car parking and enhanced retail space with a particular focus on providing an unrivalled range of fresh ‘food-to-go’.

The £1.6m redevelopment at Strand Road will double the current retail space and create an additional 15 full and part time posts. Preparations for the rebuild are underway and the project will be completed in early 2019.

The revamp of Moran’s SuperValu store in Ballykelly will see the firm invest £350,000 before the end of this year. Five full and part-time posts will be created as a result of the refurbishment project, which includes enlarging the in-house food production facility, expanding the butchery and deli areas, and upgrading the forecourt.

A further five new jobs will result from a similar £400,000 regeneration of the company’s Coleraine service station and Centra store, which includes enlarging the in-house food production facility, and deli areas, upgrading the forecourt and carwash facilities.

Managing Director John Moran says the regeneration plans are focused on improving customer experience across the stores.

“We asked our customers what they wanted from our stores and now we’re simply doing what they’ve asked, plus a little extra. Servicing our customers well is what we’ve built our family business on since it started in 1983 and that foundation won’t be changing any time soon.

“We’ve undertaken this regeneration project with a particular focus on improving quality and speeding up the way our customers access our ‘food-to-go’ and freshly prepared deli items. We’ve invested heavily in new digital systems which will vastly improve customer experience when ordering fast and fresh breakfast, lunch, dinner and more.”

“Moran’s Retail employs 120 people across the North West and this redevelopment project will help us create even more local jobs in Derry, Coleraine and Ballykelly. The investment will also ensure a bright future for our existing employees, many of whom have been with us for a very long time and are the backbone of our business.”