A HEALTHCARE provider best known for helping celebrities kick their alcohol and drug problems is shifting its UK finance department to the North-East, creating up to 50 jobs, with plans to double the operation in the next two to three years.

Priory Group, the UK’s leading independent provider of acute mental healthcare and education, is recruiting finance and procurement staff at its Darlington offices after being impressed by the highly- skilled, specialist workforce in the area.

With carehome operators Southern Cross and Four Seasons on the doorstep, Priory is able to tap into the region’s growing expertise in the healthcare sector.

Priory’s UK headquarters will remain in Leatherhead, Surrey, for the time being, but a company spokesman said the North-East is becoming an increasingly important hub for the business which offers a wide range of services from care for the elderly to patients with acute mental health issues.

Jason Lock, chief financial officer at Priory Group, explaining the reasons behind increasing the number of workers in Darlington, said: “This move demonstrates our confidence in the North-East and commitment to the area.

“This is a meaningful inward investment for the region from a national business that has traditionally been associated with the southern part of the country.

“We are bringing highquality jobs to Darlington, which includes management positions.

“This is a very competitive industry but we are confident that anyone joining us is coming to a business that is forward- looking and confident of a bright future.

“While many businesses are being forced to downsize because of a reliance on public sector contracts, our broad expertise is allowing us to go from strength to strength. ”

About 35 positions have been created at the Darlington site with more to follow.

Priory Care Homes operates eight homes in England and Northern Ireland with plans for a similar number to open before the end of the year and more than double this by the end of next year.

The group took over the running of Middleton St George Hospital, near Darlington, earlier this year after it acquired Affinity Healthcare.

Priory is actively recruiting for a number of different finance and administrative positions to support its existing operations and has ambitious growth plans.

The company is developing a range of care homes offering long-term, short-term and respite nursing care for older people who are physically frail or for those who are living with dementia-related disorders.