A PRINTING company which saw its factory destroyed in a fire last year has announced plans for a £15m headquarters in the North-East.

The owners of Reed Print Group plan to close operations in Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland and move 225 staff into headquarters in Washington. The complex will be on the site of its Reed Packaging factory, which was destroyed in a blaze last November.

Reed Printing Group managing director Giles Sergant said last night: "It is superb news for our group, which has been through some testing times since the fire.

"It follows the decision last month to sell or close our loss-making carton plant in Gateshead that had previously been supported by income from the Washington operation."

Mr Sergant said the factory would be designed to meet the group's operating needs for many years to come - embracing "modern systems for efficient climate control and waste management within a secure environment".

He said: "As well as re-establishing the print and print-finishing operations carried out at Washington before the fire, the scale of the new facility will be such that we will also be able to relocate the group's other operations in the North-East when the new flagship comes on line early next year.

"These include our direct mail operation in Sunderland and our clean-pack operation in Newcastle.

"The co-location of our activities currently on three sites will make us far more efficient and eliminate inter-company costs as all production capabilities are brought on to one platform."

The company hopes to save some of the 120 jobs at its Gateshead packaging plant, which was put up for sale a month ago.

There have been expressions of interest, but no firm offers.