Work on a £9million office redevelopment of the former Fisons headquarters building has begun and is due for completion in February 2016.

The building’s new freeholder, Malcolm Hobbs, said the contractor started on the Princes Street site three weeks ago and the first major job was to install piling under the existing structure.

“Work will carry on from then on and hopefully by two to three months you will start to see a cloak of a new building taking place,” he added.

He said he had not yet secured any tenants for the site but he was in talks with two or three interested parties.

There is a total of 43,000sq feet of space, and Mr Hobbs said it would be “market led” on whether he would let the building out floor-by-floor or as a whole.

Borough council leader David Ellesmere said he was pleased the transformation had started, adding: “We have worked closely with Malcolm Hobbs on this project, which is another major step in transforming an important site between the station and the town centre.

“It also demonstrates a vote of confidence in the town and the local economy.”