AN international IT company has chosen a site in Teesside's largest business park.

Atos Origin UK has taken a ten-year lease on 8,000sq ft of office space at Teesdale, Stockton. Its offices are in Westminster, a building in the St Mark's Basin area of the business park.

Atos had been based at premises in Wilton, Teesside, and when the lease expired it decided to look to Teesdale.

It joins law firm The Endeavour Partnership, which moved into Westminster almost a year ago.

Teesdale is home to a number of blue-chip organisations which want a central location in Teesside, as well as direct access to the A66 and A19, and only a 20-minute drive to Teesside Airport.

UK facilities manager Tim Frieze has co-ordinated the move for Atos Origin's Teesside team.

He said: "With the majority of our office staff living in and around the Teesside area, we were keen to remain close by when our lease expired. The transport links to the business park make it very accessible.

"Westminster is not only an impressive building externally, with a superb waterside location, but internally, it is light and airy and there is full air conditioning.

"The team is really settling in well."

Lead developer at Teesdale Business Park is Terrace Hill.

Director Philip Leech said: "We are delighted to welcome Atos Origin to Teesdale.

"Teesdale has an established reputation and the appeal of the waterside location speaks for itself, with rents growing from under £10 per sq ft at the end of 1997, to £15 per sq ft at the present time.

"To keep pace with this demand, we will soon be starting work on a high-specification 16,000sq ft office building in the Tees Reach area of the business park, providing over 60 parking spaces."

Agents for Westminster and the planned Fudan Way development are Dodds Brown Commercial and Knight Frank.

Published: 25/05/2004