Up to 100 jobs will be created after a major housebuilder unveiled plans to open a new regional headquarters in Oxford.

The Galliford Try Group, which trades as Linden Homes, has already set up a temporary base in Abingdon and is now looking for suitable premises in the city in which to set up a permanent base.

Bosses say the move will be instrumental in helping the firm, which closed its Marlow office in 2008 due to the downturn, become “one of the UK’s top six housebuilders” as the housing market moves out of recession.

The company has already completed major projects such as the Aspire development in Witney, part of the Marriotts Close redevelopment, Oakley Meadows in Chinnor and the Royal Apartments in Henley.

Now work has started on the £100m redevelopment of the former Fair Mile Hospital site at Cholsey near Wallingford, which will see 353 homes built over the next three years. The original asylum building, which is now listed, will be converted into 130 apartments, with other homes built in the grounds.

The operation will be headed up by divisional managing director Greg Locke from Wallingford, former chief executive of David Wilson Homes.

Greg Locke said: “I joined Galliford Try because I was excited by the challenges that would need to be addressed in helping it to achieve its ambitions for the house building division and to establish a fully fledged regional base in Oxford.

“Linden has previously completed some very successful developments in this area and now sees opportunities to develop its brand and its potential throughout the Thames Valley. To my mind the time is right and opportunities will be there to fulfil the objectives within a short time frame.”

Galliford Try’s growth plan is reliant on growing the group’s land bank and making good use of the £119.3m of additional funding raised from shareholders when it floated on the stock exchange in 2009. The group aims to sell more than 3,000 homes in 2012.