THE Devonport Naval Base shop has been ceremonially re-launched after a refurbishment and change of tenant.

Captain Pettitt cut the ribbon to the combined Costcutter store and Costa café in HMS Drake in Plymouth following a £70,000 investment, the first modernisation in seven years.

He said: “I’m very pleased to reopen this new-look store in the HMS Drake Village complex.

"The shop and coffee shop forms a community hub for all those who work and live in the naval base and dockyard.

"It is more than a shop, with the combination of the café forming a natural meeting place.

“This investment is about more than the major refurbishment of a building - there are more stock lines, a greater range other than food and drink and lower prices.

"An additional bonus is that income from sales will go to the Royal Navy/Royal Marines Charity.’’

The investment was raised from an element of the profit made in the shop over the past seven years.

Two more improvements are the replacement of the café furniture and a planned cash machine.

The driving force behind the project has been Mel Gwynn (Soft Service Manager Interserve) Lizzie Eyre & Rachel Bennet (ESS Retail Management) and Mark Drew (Costcutter Account Manager)