electrical goods retailer has completed £750k worth of works on its Ipswich premises to create a “state-of-the-art” facility.

Around 150 people now work at the 33,000sq ft Hughes Electrical plant on Felixstowe Road – which houses departments including a call centre, web management, a trade outlet, a retail shop and a depot.roof of the building now supports 774 solar panels capable of producing up to 301kW of energy as part of the firm’s commitment ot net zero customer deliveries.

Hughes – which has owned the site since 1998 – said it had made the investment for several reasons.”It is the perfect location to develop a business hub, for now and the future, serving a vital geographical area for our business,” he said.

“We want to be an integral part of its development and growth.

“We see it as both a cultural and operational centre for Hughes. It is also the ideal location for our newly created rental call centre, underlining the importance of the rapidly growing rental side of our business.”

The site is set to become the base for trialling electric vans, and will also see the installation of large batteries to store electricity generated from the solar panels.family-owned company, started just over a century ago, is the country’s fourth largest specialist electrical retailer and the biggest provider of home entertainment and kitchen appliance rentals.

It has stores in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire