The firm is investing £160,000 in its new operation base in Oxford as it looks for a bigger slice of the £230m upgrade and £300m new installation market.

Kleemann’s ambitious growth plan aims to double UK market share to 10% by 2017.

George Moschovakis, international sales commercial manager of Kleemann said: “The UK and Ireland has long been a vital market for us and even in light of economic difficulties it continues to provide huge potential.

“Kleemann currently accounts for 4% of the €365m market of new lifts but this new subsidiary puts us in the position to over double this in coming years as we will be able to enter the modernization market and acquire a significant share through our existing net of customers and from new co operations.

“International growth has long been our priority, but as a Greek company it’s more important than ever to ensure we’re well established to weather the economic uncertainty.”

In recent years, Kleemann has secured orders for The Aviva Stadium in Dublin, The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth and the American Express Brighton Stadium.

Kleemann recently invested over €5.2m to install a cutting-edge testing tower at its Greek headquarters, furthering its development of high-speed and high-rise lifts.