Family-run electrical company Gerald Giles is putting the finishing touches to a major refurbishment of its store in Ber Street, Norwich.

Managing-director Paul Giles said: 'We have had a very good last 12 months, the best year for some time, and we felt it was the right time to invest in the business having purchased the building from Norwich City Council in 2013.'

The work, costing about £175,000, has covered everything from a new roof and shop-front to new signage and a revamp of interior displays.

Mr Giles, 49, said: 'We have stripped back the front of what is an old building and started again; we have been working with the council for the past seven or eight months on designs and plans for it.'

The public had been showing interest in carving that had been uncovered during work on the building.

The work, which will be finished later this month, comes in the wake of a revamp of the company's Snellings store in Blofield Heath, at the end of last year when a kitchen appliance department and lifestyle television area - complete with sofas to watch in comfort - were added.

Mr Giles, whose father Gerald started the business in the city's Rose Lane in 1948, said: 'The World Cup year has been good for television sales, especially big screens.'

Ultra HD televisions, offering much greater definition than HD, were coming down in price and proving very popular.

He said he was confident the economic recovery would continue and the company had been investing in other ways.

They had recently taken on a website administrator - 'there is increasing activity on both our websites' - and were currently seeking an apprentice to support their move into kitchen appliance repairs.

'If business at the Norwich store keeps going up we will be looking for extra staff there,' he said.

He added that they had recently been nominated as a finalist for the Samsung UK Store of the year.