Burberry to invest 50 million pounds in new UK manufacturing plant

(Reuters) - British luxury brand Burberry Group PLC said it will invest more than 50 million pounds in a new manufacturing plant in Leeds, northern England, that will employ more than 1,000 people.

The new facility, which will allow the company to increase production of its trench coat, is "a massive vote of confidence in our plans to build a northern powerhouse," Chancellor George Osborne said.

The Chancellor has been a supporter of developing the economy of northern England which has lagged behind London and the southeast for decades since the collapse of industries like cotton, steel and coal-mining.

The London-headquartered company also said it will unify its Prorsum, London and Brit lines under the Burberry label by the end of 2016.

($1 = 0.6483 pounds)

(Reporting by Ankush Sharma in Bengaluru; editing by Adrian Croft)