Prowell, a corrugated cardboard manufacturer, has just finalised what is the largest industrial letting deal in the North West this year.

The company will operate its UK distribution hub from Ellesmere Port Logistics Centre, a 210,000sq ft facility located on the newly-created Pioneer Business Park.

Prowell, a full subsidiary of Progroup AG, based in Offenbach, Germany, selected Ellesmere Port for its first UK base after considering a range of sites in Cheshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands.

The firm already operates from nine other locations across Europe.

Howard George, of joint letting agent CBRE, said the site was chosen because of its motorway links, proximity to port facilities, the excellent deal being offered by the landlords Goodmans, as well as the support received from the local authorities in Cheshire and Ellesmere Port and the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA).

Ellesmere Port Logistics Centre is one of several new developments created in the last couple of years in Ellesmere Port's Economic Development Zone (EDZ).

The EDZ programme, led by Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council (EPNBC) with the help of European Regional Development Fund and Government funding from the NWDA, has seen a multi-million pound public investment around the M53 motorway corridor.

The funding has been used to reclaim industrial land and to attract developers to create a number of modern, high quality business units fit for the 21st century.

More than one million square feet of industrial and office space has been created with over 10 business parks and industrial estates being established since 2005.

Borough council leader Justin Madders said: "Prowell's decision to locate in Ellesmere Port is a fantastic boost for the town and is clearly a recognition of the huge investment that has been made here by the private and public sector recently.

"The borough offers businesses a dynamic location, with superb transport links, a wide range of good quality commercial sites and premises, and access to a motivated and productive local workforce."

Welcoming the development, Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Andrew Miller said: "This reflects our already strong cultural, commercial and industrial relationship with our German partners.

"I am especially pleased that the confidence shown by the NWDA and ERDF in our community has paid off and I am confident we will see more such developments in the future."