Hi-tech motorsport engineering firm Prodrive has revealed it is to create 100 jobs and move to new premises near its Banbury base.

Chairman David Richards said the firm, which employs 450 staff in the town, had outgrown its current headquarters on Wildmere Road and will move to a site in Southam Road formerly occupied by vehicle component company Hella Manufacturing.

The firm's current site is expected to become a multi-million pound retail park.

Mr Richards added there would be significant growth in the business over the next three years which could see the Banbury workforce grow to 700 by 2014.

Mr Richards said: “We have totally outgrown our current site and this is severely hindering our ability to grow.

“We will be recruiting another 100 employees in our UK operations over the next 12 months.”

Prodrive moved to its current site in 1986 from Silverstone with just a handful of staff when it was running a small rally programme for Porsche.

The business is now global, employing more than 700 staff in the UK, Australia and China and runs motorsport programmes for Mini, Aston Martin and Ford as well as manufacturing carbon composite components for the defence, marine and aerospace industries.

Mr Richards added: “I never dreamed that one day the business would be operating on three continents, developing the next generation of green technologies for the automotive industry or helping put satellites into space.

“Despite these dramatic changes, one thing that has remained constant is our home in Banbury.

“Most of our staff live locally as do I and we have built close working relationships with many local suppliers.”

Hella axed 450 jobs in 2006 with production moved to Eastern Europe due to lower wage costs.