Diageo stated that it was pleased with the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council's decision to approve the extension at the facility, which was originally one of only two in the world where Baileys is manufactured.

The original Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur is created, packaged, labelled, and stored at the Mallusk location.

The firm, which creates more than 60 million bottles of Baileys annually for sale to 150 countries, said that the permission will enhance its logistics and warehousing facilities on the site.

There are two further Diageo locations in Northern Ireland: its corporate offices are located in Belfast's downtown and an east Belfast beer canning and packaging factory.

“We are thrilled with the council's decision to approve our plans to extend our site at Mallusk,” said Lesley Allen, operations manager at Baileys Mallusk.

“The extension will support the storage, delivery and distribution of raw materials and finished goods and we are looking forward to the opportunities it will create for us.

“Baileys makes a considerable contribution to the local economy in Northern Ireland, and over 97% of our output is shipped around the world.

“We are confident that the planned extension will support Diageo’s wider growth strategy, building on the £40m investment we made in opening the site in 2003 and the ongoing investments to further develop the facility and the Baileys brand.”