PADIHAM was today given a 600 jobs boost after a national mortgage company announced it was setting up in the town.

Homeloan Management has bought 20,000 square feet of new premises at Shuttleworth Mead.

The company carries out administration work for the main national mortgage lenders.

It is expected that the workforce at the operations centre in Padiham could reach 600 over the next two years and would place the company as the borough's fifth biggest employer after Burnley Health Care Trust, Reality, Hurel Hispano and Burnley Borough Council.

Job opportunities would include management positions and IT roles but the main openings would be in administration.

The Skipton-based company said it chose Padiham because of its location and easy access to the motorway and its recruitment potential.

Rita Walsh, secretary of the Burnley and District Chamber of Trade, which covers Padiham, said she was delighted.

She said: "It is an absolute gift for Padiham and couldn't go to any better place. It is just what we need, more permanent full-time jobs with plenty of people skilled to fill them."

Homeloan Management, which was formed in 1988, is also negotiating to build a further 30,000 to 50,000sq ft building on the same site to cater for anticipated growth.

The firm's clients include banks, building societies, insurance companies and specialist lenders.

When the companies offer a mortgage to a customer, Padiham staff will carry out the administration on their behalf, from the initial enquiry through to debt recovery.

The Mayor of Padiham, Councillor Granville Lord, said: "It is brilliant for the town because everyone benefits from it, the unemployed, the businesses and the residents."

Burnley MP Peter Pike added: "This is welcome news. It's creating new jobs and it is good for the town. These are exactly the type of jobs we want in financial services. We needed to widen the jobs base and this will help to do that."

The company's associate director Vince Smith and managing director Steve Haggerty said they would be processing around £20billion of mortgage assets for over 30 UK lenders by the end of the year.

The move came after the company signed a new five-year contract with mortgage lender, GMAC-RFC, part of the General Motors group of companies.

Shuttleworth Mead was built on the site of the former Padiham Power Station and was redeveloped at a cost of £19million, backed by UK and European grants.

Among the first companies to move to the 73-acre park were Massey Tankers Limited and wallcoverings manufacturer Graham and Brown.