A trio of entrepreneurs have brought a pub back to life as a restaurant, creating 21 new jobs in the process.

The Ley Inn, in Clayton-le-Woods, near Chorley, had closed its doors earlier this year but is now back open for business as a restaurant called Barton’s after an extensive refit.

The team behind the refurbishment are Nick White, Peter Milnes and Brian Leyland, who are partners in Dante’s Halfway House, a company that also operates Mediterranean restaurant Dante’s in Clayton-le-Woods and The Cavendish Arms in nearby Brindle.

They joined forces with Wolverhampton-based brewery Marston’s to invest a total £400,000 in the pub, which has seen the derelict function room brought back to life and the creation of a new 60 seat restaurant as well as a bar area.

The function room, which can hold 200 people, has already received a large number of bookings for weddings, birthdays and christenings.

The pub’s exterior and car park have also been renovated to improve access.

The relaunch of the venue has created nine new full time jobs and 12 part time positions.

Nick White said: “We have been very pleased by the response locally and we are also working to get the function room registered so we can host weddings and civil partnerships.

“We always had one eye on the pub because one of the team, Peter Milnes, had previously run it for 25 years and Barton’s is complementary to our other venues in the area. The Barton’s menu brings back some old favourites from the 1970s. There are dishes like Dover Sole and Steak Diane that we are flambéing at diners’ tables.

“Lloyds Bank had full faith in our plan for the business from the start and has given excellent support in getting the project up and running.”

The investment was supported by an £80,000 business loan from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.