Tesco Bank’s insurance call centre is in Longbenton, near Newcastle

Hiring starts as supermarket company takes on the traditional banks

TESCO Bank, the new name for Tesco Personal Finance, has started recruiting the first 500 staff for its call centre on Quorum Business Park, near Newcastle, which is now being fitted out.

They are due to be in place by the end of the year and will be followed by a further 500 employees over the next five years.

As an example, team managers are offered a salary or £25,000-£30,000, plus such benefits as a share scheme and a 10pc discount in Tesco stores.

The company has signed a 15-year lease on a 100,353 sq ft building called Q8 and is aided by a £2m grant from the development agency One North East, partly with EU money.

Quorum Business Park is in Longbenton, 10 minutes from the city centre, and has its own shuttle bus.

From there, Tesco Bank will handle sales and service for home and motor insurance policyholders, backed by Fortis UK.

It is part of a move by Tesco to challenge traditional banks, which will mean hiring a total of 1,800 staff.

In June last year, it opened its new 47,000 sq ft headquarters building, InterPoint, in Haymarkets Yard, Edinburgh.  Twelve weeks later, Tesco took a 20-year lease on Broadway One, a seven storey building with 125,466 sq ft on the corner of Renfield Street and Renfrew Street, Glasgow, to house a customer service centre for bank account holders.  (See Call Centre Europe, issue No. 84.)

Tesco Personal Finance began in 1997 as a joint venture between Tesco and Royal Bank of Scotland and in December 2008 Tesco bought out RBS for £950m.

Some 250 RBS staff have moved to the new HQ and a further 500 are expected to move to the Glasgow building.

Tesco Bank claims 6m customers for its 28 different financial products and services, including credit cards, loans, savings accounts and motor, home pet and travel insurance.  It also owns the comparison site Tesco Compare, a network of ATMs and plans to increase its number of in-store bank branches.

Tesco Bank reports a “large number” of applications from experienced candidates for the jobs on offer and has set up a web site for applicants.

The bank said: “We've deliberately located our new contact centres in areas where we know there is strong experience in customer services and the financial sector, with a well qualified and enthusiastic workforce.  We’ve had a great response so far but we have many more roles still available.”

Notes for editors:

Tesco Bank

b.. Tesco Bank's Newcastle office is based at the new Quorum Business Park in Longbenton, and is 10 minutes from the city centre. Close to Four Lane Ends bus and Metro interchange it is easy to get to and has its own shuttle bus service