The UK's biggest vaping retailer has said it expects the UK Government to protect vapers from a San Francisco-style ban, as it commits its future to the industry with a major expansion plan.

VPZ has revealed plans to create 1,000 new jobs over the next three years as it looks to open 200 new stores across the UK.

The retailer, which has 125 stores across the country, said that it has outlined the rapid expansion proposals in order to keep up with surging demand as smokers put down traditional cigarettes.

Plans will see the company, which started in Edinburgh in 2012, grow substantially in Wales and the South East england as it looks to cover more of the UK market.

VPZ said its recruitment drive will create new opportunities across the business, hiring staff in retail, marketing, sales, manufacturing and finance, as well as hiring new flavour mixologists.

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Doug Mutter, director at VPZ, said: "These plans will treble the size of our business by the end of 2021.

"There are currently three million vapers in the UK market and that is continuing to grow fast, so we need to grow fast ourselves to meet that high demand."

VPZ's plans come just days after regulators in the US announced that San Francisco is set to become the first city to have a complete ban on the sale of vaping products.

Mr Mutter said he found the decision across the channel "bemusing", and said that the UK Government has taken a "more logical" approach to the vaping industry.

While there are significant calls for more research to take place on vaping products, Public Health England's most recent study suggests that it could be up to 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes.

Aston Martin's biggest investor is looking to boost its stake by splashing out £68 million on another 3% holding in the luxury car-maker.

Strategic European Investment Group - a subsidiary of private equity firm Investindustrial Advisors - said it is considering buying 6.8 million shares at £10 each in the maker of cars favoured by fictional spy James Bond.

Strategic European Investment Group already has a 30.97% stake in Aston Martin, which floated on the London Stock Exchange last year.

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The investor said it has the support of Mercedes Benz maker Daimler, which has agreed to approve the deal in respect of its 4.2% shareholding in Aston Martin.

Other investors - Adeem Automotive Manufacturing Company, Asmar, Primewagon and Stehwaz Automotive Jersey - have also agreed to support the deal in respect of their 30.6% combined shareholdings in Aston Martin.

The UK's biggest shopping centre owners have taken a hit worth £2.7 billion in the last year as high street chains struggle, new figures have shown.

Major retail landlords have been forced to make £2.7 billion in write-downs on the value of their properties, compared with just £232 million the year before, according to Growthdeck Property's investment arm.

It comes as companies such as Arcadia, New Look and Debenhams slim down their store estates and ask for rent reductions in order to continue trading.

Several of the biggest property owners in the UK have found the value of their prized assets dwindling, as even household name shops become less reliable sources of income.