WORK is racing ahead on the new headquarters of the latest firm to move its hi-tech business to Oxfordshire.

Lord Mayor of Oxford Carole Roberts helped put the final roofing slab in place of the new international management centre for Electrocomponents on the expanding Oxford Business Park, on the site of Rover's former North and South Works at Cowley.

The electronics firm is building its new corporate headquarters on the park and has already moved 50 people there from Peterborough.

More employees are being recruited in Oxford and the new building has room for 100-150 staff.

The company chairman, Roy Cotterill, was presented with a ceremonial trowel by Mrs Roberts on behalf of Moss Construction.

He said: "Relocation to Oxford was unanimous after considerable research throughout the Home Counties.

"Oxford provides the outstanding mix of culture and infrastructure to enable us to provide a stimulating professional and social environment for our people, who number several different nationalities." The international management centre is on three floors with a glass atrium designed and constructed by Moss Construction with architects Lyons, Sleeman and Hoare. As well as the Electrocomponents building, Arlington is also building two phases of speculatively built new offices and a pioneering "serviced office" block which companies will be able to rent for anything from a day to several years.

It will be a joint venture with Regus, which already has a unit on the park providing office furniture, receptionists, telephone system and computers for several different companies.

The new offices will be three times as big, and will have kiosk shops, such as a newsagent, taxi firm and dry cleaners.

Story date: Thursday 11 March

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.