Member Article

Atom announces company headquarters in Durham City creating 400 jobs

The team behind Atom – the challenger bank that is designed for digital – has decided to headquarter the company in Durham City.

The business will create up to 400 jobs as it builds a bank serving customers across the UK from premises in the City’s Aykley Heads area.

The decision follows a detailed search across North East England to find the best location for the launch and growth of the business. Initially the firm will occupy space within the council-owned Northumbria House and expand to fill the building before it launches to customers in the first half of 2015.

Anthony Thomson, chairman of the Atom Board, said: “This is a great step forward for Atom. Durham has the perfect combination of accessibility, talent and a fantastic working environment for a business that needs to challenge an industry and offer a great level of service all day, every day.

“Having settled on Durham as the ideal location for Atom, we found the County Council and Business Durham to be welcoming, forward looking and able to reach decisions quickly to help us into premises.

“This decision cements Atom’s commitment to a future in the North East and the team is looking forward to building more and deeper links across the region in the coming months and years.”

Cllr Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council, said: “This is a very significant step in the development of what is a key site in the County Durham Plan; a site which we believe has the potential to be a powerful economic driver for the county and wider region.

“Alongside the creation of hundreds of jobs this sends a very strong message that Durham is a forward thinking, business-minded county ready and waiting to do what it takes to help companies deliver on their ambitions.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Business Durham .