A SUBSEA company is relocating in a new town centre development which is expected to be complete this spring.

DeepOcean, which is based in Darlington, says it has now reached an agreement with Darlington Borough Council and will be moving to the new Feethams House development

The global subsea services company, which employs more than 100 people in Darlington, will move from its existing premises in the town to the new development in the coming months.

It has taken the entire top floor of Feethams House, covering more than 7000 sq ft.

Feethams House will also provide a base for the company’s subsea trenching and seabed intervention division, Enshore, with staff working between Darlington and its facility at the Port of Blyth in the development, maintenance and operation of its fleet of underwater trenching vehicles.

Pierre Boyde, managing director of Enshore, said: “The North-East continues to grow in strategic importance for DeepOcean and Enshore, and this new office will support the continued development of our activities.

"We have always benefited from the excellent talent pool in Darlington and the wider North-East and this new office will also further help us attract people to work at DeepOcean from beyond the region."

Feethams House, an £8.5m office block adjacent to the DL1 leisure complex in the town centre, was funded by Darlington Borough Council, the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority and the European Regional Development Fund, is expected to be finished this spring.

Councillor Heather Scott, leader of Darlington Borough Council, said: “We’re delighted to welcome DeepOcean as the first tenant in Feethams House. It is a company that has been in Darlington for a long time and has been looking for a new office location for a while. This is a signal of the confidence it has in this new building, and in the town and we wish them every success in the future.

“There are a number of potential other tenants interested in the remaining available space and we invite anyone looking to grow their business or move to more suitable accommodation to contact us. Feethams House is a high-quality building that makes the most of Darlington’s excellent rail links and its proximity to the town centre.”