CROWN Paints has been given a boost after striking a deal with national house-builder McInerney Homes.

The developer, which is building hundreds of houses near to Crown’s head office and factory in Darwen, will now use only Crown Paints products in all its new homes across the UK.

Bosses at Crown, who recently warned that up to 140 jobs were under threat because of a ‘restructuring programme’ brought on by the credit crunch, have welcomed the deal.

Glen Cooper, national housebuilder sales man-ager for Crown Paints, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with McInerney Homes and hope that our relation-ship will go from strength to strength, not just in Darwen, but throughout the UK.”

Tracey Lowe, sales man-ager for McInerney Homes North West, said it made ‘perfect sense’ for the two neighbours to work together.

She said: “We build quality new homes that need quality paint and Crown Paints was the obvious choice.

“The fact that we're building homes on the doorstep of its head-quarters also made it a wonderful opportunity to support the community in which we’re building.”

Crown Paints brands include Crown, Sadolin and Sandtex and it operates two factories in Darwen and Hull, with depots located in Warrington, Dublin and Belfast, employing a total of 1,500 people.

Last year, the company returned to British own-ership following a multi-million pound deal between the current management and previous owners Akzo Nobel.

There were fears that the future of the 565 workers at the Darwen base was un-certain if a foreign buyer had been found.

Currently McInerney is building 132 apartments in Bolton Road. Denise Gee, president of the Darwen Chamber of Trade, said: “We embrace and support any initiative that will bring business to the area.

“I applaud McInerney Homes.

“I think this is a good partnership and I hope it continues at this time when people are scared for their jobs, and beyond.”