Dame Mary Perkins, co-founder of international opticians chain Specsavers, has officially opened the company’s newest outlet at idle, Bradford, which is the group’s largest in Yorkshire.

The new branch at the Enterprise 5 Retail Park is nearly double the size of the previous base following a £600,000 investment in a bigger unit, taking the space from 4,200 sq ft to 7,500 sq ft.

It has six opticians, eight test rooms and stocks more than 1,600 frames, including designer brands. The store also has a hearing centre with two test rooms, each fitted with a state-of-the-art soundproof hearing booth.

Dame Mary, accompanied by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Khadim Hussain, officially opened the store with a ribbon cutting and balloon release ceremony.

Bhrat Phakey, store director, said: “To have Dame Mary come along to our new store launch was an honour and it was great for us to have the chance to meet such an inspirational figure. Having worked for Specsavers for over 25 years, it was a particularly proud moment for me to see the hard work and dedication of the team here recognised by the lady who started it all.

“We’re committed to providing the residents of Idle with the best optical service in town and, with the addition of the Specsavers Idle hearcare team, we have one of the strongest offerings in the region when it comes to optical and hearing services. I, along with the rest of the team, am proud to now run the biggest Specsavers store in the region. Our current team, now 55 strong, is the best we’ve ever had in Idle and we hope that our success and customer loyalty continues for many years to come in our new home.”

Guests at the opening included representatives from the local Guide Dogs charity, which has been selected as the local charity partner by Specsavers in Idle for 2014.

The charity’s Peter Leeds was presented with a £3,666 cheque, money which has been raised by the store staff over the past 12 months. Bradford City star Kyel Reid also attended the event.

Specsavers was founded in 1984 and is now the largest privately-owned opticians chain in the world. The company has more than 1,600 stores throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Australia and New Zealand serving more than 20 million customers.

In 2011-12 Specsavers’ total revenue was £1.7 billion. Its optical stores and hearing centres are owned and run by joint venture or franchise partners and employ more than 22,000 staff globally Specsavers has risen from a firm started on the table-tennis table at the Guernsey home of Dame Mary and her husband Doug in 1984 to a giant controlling 42 per cent of Britain’s optician's market.