WATERCOOLER maker Ebac is to open the most expensive spa in the UK.

The manufacturer, based in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, which employs 350 people in the town, will open a £1m Waterfall spa in Leeds in the autumn, which it says will be the most exclusive spa in the country, with champagne, caviar and even a chocolate waterfall.

The move sees Ebac Group expand its portfolio of businesses into the high end of the leisure market, with plans to open further spas across the UK, particularly in the North-East.

The women-only spa will offer health and beauty treatments.

The spa business as a move away from the company's water coolers and de-humidifiers.

Waterfall will be in the Brewery Wharf development.

Ebac managing director Pamela Elliott said: "Waterfall is a new concept and one, which I believe, will be embraced by the North-East.

"Opening in Leeds represents a good opportunity to test the spa market, but we are already considering locations such as Newcastle and Durham as future homes for Waterfall.

"Health and fitness is a growing market, but Waterfall creates an opportunity for a new offering - relaxation, stress relief and, most of all, pure enjoyment. It is probably the most exclusive spa in the country and definitely the only one of its kind."

Last month, The Northern Echo exclusively revealed that a recent Ebac venture supplying home water cooler systems, had gone global after a successful launch in the North-East, turning Bottled Water Direct into a multi-million pound business onlyweeks after its launch.