Tesco brings 1,000 jobs to Tyneside

Oct 29 2009 By Adam Jupp, The Journal

THE North East was last night hailed as the perfect choice for the location of a banking call centre, which will create 1,000 jobs.

Tesco Bank chiefs yesterday revealed they are to establish a new base at the Quorum Business Park, Longbenton, North Tyneside.

The site will manage sales and customer service for the lender’s home and motor insurance customers.

And the move has been made possible by a £2m grant from regional development agency One North East.

Andrew Higginson, chairman of Tesco Bank, told The Journal: "We are delighted to be coming to the North East.

"The bank is based in Edinburgh and Tesco as a business has call centres in Dundee and Cardiff, while there is a banking call centre in Glasgow. So, we see this as the last piece in the jigsaw.

"We think there is a great tradition here of the workforce being great at this type of work.

"And the geography is also vital for us, so it was a win win situation for us, especially given the grant we were offered from One North East."

Recruitment will start early next year, with a target of having 500 people in post by December 2010. The remainder will be employed during the course of 2011.

In the meantime, work is being carried out to prepare Tesco Bank’s new premises for the move.

The supermarket giant has taken 100,000sq ft of office space at the Quorum Business Park and the announcement is also seen as a boost for that development.