Business Editor Paul Grinnell asks what the new arrival means for the city.

On the face of it the arrival in Peterborough of Willis and Gambier might seem a stroke of good fortune.

When directors took the decision to unify the storage and distribution operations that were spread over three outlets in Saffron Walden, they had no idea where their new home would be.

Sales director Mark Bedford said: "We spent about eight or nine months looking for a suitable site.

"We had started to become inefficient because we had to move products between the different warehouses.

"In the end it became a choice of Kettering or Peterborough and we chose Peterborough because the warehouse was already built and was empty and we could move straight in.

"As it turns out, the staff are delighted. Most of them have chosen to stay with us and the good road network means that they can commute but some have moved and have been delighted house prices are so much lower in Peterborough.

But significantly, the key factor was that the 545,000 sq ft warehouse, at Kingston Park, had already been built about a year earlier by ProLogis, confident the demand for it did exist.

But it is this speculative type of development that is at risk, according to developers, not only from the credit crunch, which is drying up the supply of funding needed for such developments but also changes to business rates, which have done away with tax relief on empty properties.

It is that farsightedness and willingness to take a chance that gave Peterborough the edge in the firm's choice of location.

But as well as providing Willis and Gambier with an impressive new headquarters, for the city it brings a dynamic employer with ambitious plans to grow over the coming years.

Mr Bedford said: "Our turnover had grown each year.

"In 2000 it stood at £8 million and rose to £10 million two years later and last year reached £38 million and is expected to grow again this year."

Quality is key to the success of the company which sells its products to top of the range stores, such as John Lewis, House of Fraser, Laura Ashley and Marks and Spencer.

While the economic slowdown is making trading tougher in the UK, Mr Bedford said much of the future growth was expected to come from overseas as Willis and Gambier pushes into mainlaind Europe.

Its Willis and Gambier International company is geared up to sell its ranges to hotels.

It currently supplies to Germany and expects to be in Germany by October with Spain to follow soon after.

That expected growth is likely to result in the firm creating jobs in Peterborough.

At the moment, the warehouse has 150 employees with 44 having been recruited in Peterborough. The others chose to relocate or commute from Saffron Walden.