MIDDLESBOROUGH:  JT Atkinson is set to continue its growth story in the North East with funding and business support from the Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking (RBS CIB) team in Newcastle.

JT Atkinson has recently opened five new branches, including ones in Hartlepool, Gateshead and Sunderland. These developments have increased the number of its building centres to 13 across the North of England, complementing established units in Northallerton, Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees. The firm has also been able to lease out a large part of its site in Penrith to Go Outdoors, one of the UK’s largest retailers of outdoors clothing and equipment.

Buoyed by its on-going success, the company is now looking to add further sites to its branch network and to continue to hire new employees to meet business demand. JT Atkinson, which in 2010 celebrated its 150th anniversary, registered £25m in annual turnover in the last fiscal year and has seen its number of employees rise to nearly 200, with around a fifth of this increase coming from the recently opened units.

Jeremy Boyd, finance director at JT Atkinson, said: “We have plans to open further branches throughout the North East and will be looking to RBS CIB and its team in Newcastle for high quality support as we expand the business. RBS has been a fantastic partner for us and is fully aware of our ambitions for the North East market."