JOBS are set to return to a Hillfoots site where staff were made redundant after 30 years of production.

The Mulraney Group has purchased the 6.5acre Benkert site in Alva, where a factory closed last year with the loss of almost 100 positions.

Multi-occupancy business units are being made available for rent by the group, which is developing the site in two phases.

It is understood two key tenants have already been secured for the site in the Mears Group and LumiraDx.

The latter company develops and manufactures diagnostic platforms for healthcare, bringing together technology and clinical care.

The Mulraney Group has committed to an initial £2million investment in the site in the first stage of a two phase development programme.

This will see around 100,000 square feet of property being made available for rent and the two confirmed key tenants are set to occupy around half of that space.

It is understood there is already significant interest in the remainder of the site and the Mulraney Group is planning a secondary development stage for 2022.

A spokesman for the group said: “We are also pleased to confirm that we have contracted to lease out more that 50,000square feet of the building already, and are at an advanced stage of negotiations with several other companies looking to invest in Clackmannanshire.

“We are pleased to confirm that this had already secured many jobs for the area with more to follow.”

As reported last year, the Benkert factory site was closed down after more than 30 years of production.

The factory used to manufacture cigarette tippings, closing for good on December 19.

In staggered redundancies, nearly 100 members of staff were forced to find other jobs as the company blamed a fall in customer demand, uncertainties over Brexit and Covid-19 as the reasons behind the move.

It is understood some staff applied to work for LumiraDx at that time, which also owns a site in neighbouring Stirling.

The Mulraney Group explained that the site, where the factory almost burnt down to the ground during a major blaze in 2010, is going to be of key strategic interest moving forward.