Financial jobs boost for Teesside

Oct 14 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

FINANCE giant Alliance & Leicester is moving 100 jobs to Teesside.

It follows a decision by parent company, the Spanish-owned Santander, to close a site and switch work elsewhere, with the loss of more than 200 jobs.

It said that its Heritage House site in Leicester will shut, with most of its 250-strong workforce moving to another office in Narborough, Leicestershire.

However some work, including personal loan telephone distribution functions, will move to other Santander sites in the UK, mainly Sheffield, while the firm’s mortgage servicing function currently based at Narborough, is moving to another Santander company based on Teesside, affecting around 100 jobs.

The company currently employs around 550 staff at its base in Thornaby. A spokesman said 100 jobs were moving to Teesside, although it was unsure how many would be created locally. Staff are being given the opportunity to relocate.

An Alliance & Leicester spokesman said: “There is never a good time to announce changes such as this. We are acutely aware of the uncertainty staff are facing.”