Water filter manufacturer Brita is to moving to a purpose-built £10.4m factory in Bicester, creating up to 75 jobs.

The plant at the Chaucer Road industrial estate will be complete shortly, with Brita relocating from Sunbury-on-Thames, near London, in August.

Sixty of the 105 staff will move, and expansion means another 30 jobs will be created, with all the vacancies being recruited locally.

Brita UK managing director David Banfield said Bicester had been chosen ahead of a variety of other locations around the UK and also Ireland, Switzerland and eastern Europe.

He added: "We started the search about two years ago as the growth in UK business meant we went from one site in 1993 that was too big for us to three sites that were bursting at the seams.

"Eventually we decided to stay in the UK and, even without Government assistance, Bicester won because it offers more than commercial opportunity, good access and central location -- it has impressive schools, excellent amenities and the potential to make a good home.

"Prospective employees will have the chance to join a business that is growing dramatically and will offer a variety of roles ranging from production to administration and sales and marketing."

Further expansion is forecast in the near future -- retail sales of water filters have almost doubled in the last five years to about £100m a year and are set to double again in the next five years.

The move has delighted Cherwell District Council. Chief executive Grahame Handley said: "We look forward to developing a long and successful business partnership."