Two Marple entrepreneurs create 10 jobs with £200k Spar investment

A former Premier Store in Marple, Greater Manchester, has been acquired by a North West convenience store operator and given a £200k makeover, creating almost a dozen jobs in the process.

Having bought the site on Stockport Road with funding support from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Brown & Stone Limited rebranded the shop as a Spar and installed new flooring, refrigeration systems, LED lighting, outdoor seating and additional customer parking spaces.

The firm, which created 10 new jobs with its latest acquisition, is owned by directors Paul Stone and Alex Brown, both of whom live locally.

Paul currently runs six other convenience stores in Manchester city centre, while Alex previously owned and operated the Spar shop on St Mary’s Gate in Manchester.

Commenting on the acquisition, Paul said: “I am really pleased that we have been successful with our bid to acquire the lease of the former Premier Store on Stockport Road.

“This location has great potential and is well positioned to attract customers heading in and out of Marple. It’s great to be operating a store so close to where we both live.”

He added: “The refurbishment work we have undertaken has made a huge difference to the store, giving it a more modern, upmarket feel and has enabled us to increase the range of fresh food on offer for our customers.”

Speaking further, Paul said RBS relationship manager Stuart Davies and his team played an “instrumental part” in enabling Brown & Stone Limited to transform the Marple store.

Stuart said: “The improvements that Paul and Alex have made to the store are impressive and I am pleased that we have been able to support them in their latest venture.

“They both have a great deal of experience in the retail sector and their plans to reinvent the store will attract much local interest.”

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