Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE) has revealed that negotiations with The Essentiagroup - a communications company exploring the possibility of opening up a contact centre in Brora - are at an advanced stage.

CASE senior business advisor, Susan Smith said: "We are delighted that The Essentiagroup wants to come to Sutherland.  We are working closely with the company to help them to realise their expansion plans and we hope that The Essentiagroup will have a presence in Brora before the end of this year.

"With the promise of up to 26 jobs, this potential inward investment is a significant boost for the town which has had to cope with the recent loss of jobs at Hunters of Brora."

The Essentiagroup is one of the UK's leading communications companies providing support advice in areas related to general health; mental health; smoking cessation and sexual health.  They already employ over 250 people in Glasgow and handle around 4.5 million contacts per year.

The company - with assistance from CASE and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) - hosted an open day in Brora in April of this year to establish if the area had a suitable labour pool and to assess the skills of individuals interested in working for the company.

The Essentiagroup is extremely impressed by what Sutherland has to offer and recently decided on Brora as the preferred location for their new contact centre over a site in Ireland.

Joe Costello, managing director with The Essentiagroup said: "We have been impressed by the energy brought to the discussions by Claire MacLean of HIE and Susan Smith of CASE.

"The Brora area has the site, the technology and above all, the type of people we require for the sophisticated and important job we do as a company.  I look forward to continuing discussions with CASE."

Susan Smith added: "CASE has suitable premises available for lease in Brora already and we can also support The Essentiagroup further in terms of possible financial assistance towards the cost of training new staff."