US firm Hallmark Cards is putting the finishing touches to its new multi-million pound UK head office in Bradford.

From next month around 650 staff will be based at the company's new nerve centre in Cottingley - at the former site of fellow greetings cards company WN Sharpe.

The move will see staff from the firm's current offices in Dudley Hill joined by 170 new employees - more than 100 of whom have been recruited locally.

The 100,000 sq ft new base will now be the home of Hallmark's Britannia, Unique Images and Tigerprint divisions, as well as all of its administrative operations.

Managing director Keith Brown said: "The decision to restructure the business and move to the north was a natural consequence of acquisitions made over previous years, and in line with our strategic vision for the UK.

"We believe our staff will benefit from an excellent working environment, enhanced career opportunities and a more rewarding work culture here.

"Our external recruitment campaign has been very successful, and we were greatly assisted by Bradford Council, who assisted us by running telephone interviews and organising initial face-to-face interviews.

"We are also thrilled to report that around 50 staff, more than 20 per cent of our southern workforce in Bath and Henley, are making the move to join us in Bradford.''

The Bingley Road site was first opened in 1937 by WN Sharpe - then a leading name in the cards industry, and more recently the supplier of Christmas cards to the Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Hallmark Group took over WN Sharpe in 1984, and in 1991 turned the complex into its central distribution point.

From the mid-1990s the office buildings remained unused - until major refurbishment began earlier this year.

Hallmark expects to exceed a £200m UK turnover target this year, and employs around 2,000 people across sites in Bradford, Brighouse and a manufacturing base in Lancashire.