Northern Property Finance has bought and moved into the newly-completed Cawledge Park office development.

The park was developed by Northumberland Estates in a joint venture with commercial property developers City & Northern.

Northern Property Financewas previously based in Alnwick town centre. Directors Eddie and Michelle MacKenzie moved because they felt the park offered considerable advantages to their business.

Eddie said: "Although we operate on a national level, the majority of our clients and business associates are based either in the south east of Northumberland or in Newcastle itself.

"Being so close to the A1 is not only ideal for us when travelling out to see them, but also makes it much easier for them to come to Alnwick.

"At Cawledge there is no problem with parking, something which is becoming increasingly hard in Alnwick, and yet we are not so far out of town as to make it difficult to attract staff, particularly with the new Sainsbury's, Homebase/Argos and the Willowburn sports centre just across the road.

"Increasing our market share locally is a key part of our business development strategy, and we see Cawledge Park as an ideal location from which to achieve this."

The units are eco-friendly, made using renewable materials and with a heating system fuelled by renewable energy.

They are available on a buy or lease basis, with letting agents George F White and King Sturge asking for rents starting at £23,50 per annum for a full repairing lease or £278,000 to buy, purchased on a 125-year long leasehold.

The Cawledge Park complex currently includes 12 office suites in three sizes of 1,852 sq ft, 2,407 sq ft and 2,848 sq ft, with a second phase, not yet begun, offering a further 12 units.

The project also received grant funding of more than £550,000 from Northumberland Strategic Partnership and One NorthEast as part of their investment plans to bring new business opportunities to Alnwick.

James Jackson, of Northumberland Estates, said: "We see this as another exciting step in the regeneration of Alnwick continuing the expansion of commercial and retail opportunities for the town.

"Modern, purpose built offices will not only allow developing business to stay in Alnwick rather than moving on, but it is already becoming apparent through the level of enquiries received, that the out of town position is attracting considerable interest from businesses new to the area and looking to buy into the out of town lifestyle."