BENTLEY has announced it is to create 300 jobs in Crewe and invest £40million in a new research centre in the town.

The move enables Bentley to create Europe’s leading research and development centre for the luxury car industry to support their global expansion on the back of their £140m investment over three years in Crewe.

It will deliver 300 new and sustainable jobs with further significant number of jobs within the supply chain.

And Cheshire East Council said it has been working closely with Bentley to ensure the development happened by 'unlocking key sites' next to the firm's current base.

In addition, a further investment to support the expansion a dedicated supplier park is also set to be created, bringing further jobs to the town.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, Chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, said: “With Bentley's new research and development centre, we will develop a new generation of Bentleys, which will continue our commitment of luxury, performance, quality and engineering excellence.

"Bentley is the number one luxury car manufacturer in the world and driving more investment into our headquarters and attracting talent is key to continuing our success.”

Including these latest roles, Bentley has now announced the creation of more than 950 jobs in the past 18 months, during which time the business has produced record sales.

Last year, Bentley delivered more cars than ever before, 10,120, and expects to break that figure in 2014. The company also committed to an £800 million investment over three years in product and facility development, with this announcement driving the investment to £840 million.        

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said: “Bentley is an iconic British Brand that exports around the world. Their decision to create another 300 jobs in R&D on a new site providing close to 1,000 new jobs is fantastic news for Crewe and for Britain.

“These highly skilled jobs in this export industry are exactly the kind of opportunities we want to see created which is why in yesterday’s Autumn Statement I provided further incentives for R&D in the UK.

“The investment will not only create jobs at Bentley, but support many more through suppliers across the UK.

"I want Britain to be a country where companies want to invest and create jobs, as Bentley is doing today.”