A RECRUITMENT firm has moved into a former Dudley wine bar following a £580,000 transformation.

The dilapidated Merlin’s bar in Wolverhampton Street had stood empty for 20 years before MET Recruitment bought the building - which is a heritage asset - from Dudley Council.

Ahead of the official opening on Friday (July 27), the building had undergone a makeover to get it up scratch, which was managed by the council with funding through the Townscape Heritage programme, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership.

Councillor Ian Kettle, Dudley's cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise, said: “This is an important site and we are delighted that it is being brought back into use.

“This refurbishment is part of wider plans to regenerate Wolverhampton Street, a key gateway into the town centre.

"With plenty of other schemes going on in Dudley town centre, including the redevelopment of Cavendish House, it will redefine the town for a generation.”

Robin Tong, managing director of MET Recruitment, added: “We are expanding as a business and had outgrown our former premises, so we were really pleased to go ahead with the expansion whilst still remaining in the town centre.

“We have been recruiting in and around the Black Country now for nearly 10 years, and have always been proud to have a base right at the heart of the area.

“With all the plans the council have to regenerate Dudley, it’s an exciting time for the town and we wanted to remain a part of it."