Efforts to bring new jobs in teleworking or data processing to Orkney have been given a boost following the completion of new offices in Kirkwall.  'Kiln Corner' is a £1.4 million office and housing development funded by Orkney Enterprise and Orkney Housing Association and consists of four offices and 22 flats.

Orkney Enterprise, who supported the development with a funding package worth £390,000 are now looking for tenants for the offices which have just been completed.  'Kiln Corner' is helping to tackle the shortage of office accommodation in the town and with the flats now fully occupied, the development is going some way to meeting in the increasing demand for homes in Kirkwall.

The office units, which are on the ground floor, cover a total area of 5,200 sq. ft and can be let as four separate offices or can be merged.

Chief executive at Orkney Enterprise Ken Grant said: "These offices are ideal for teleworking, data processing and general back office functions and ideally we hope to attract an inward investor who is going to create new jobs in Kirkwall.   With continuing advances in telecommunications technology many business transactions are now conducted by telephone or online making Orkney an increasingly realistic and viable business location.

"We have embarked on a wider marketing campaign to attract the best possible return for our investment in terms of additional or new jobs being created in Orkney and we recognise that this ambition may take some time to be fully realised.  Relocating existing office-based business is not our first priority, however we do not rule out the possibility that 'Kiln Corner' may be suitable for locally based business expansion.

"The environmental renewal of central Kirkwall has also been a priority for Orkney Enterprise in recent years so we are delighted to see the recycling of an unsightly and obsolete building creating new homes and new jobs."