A VENTURE founded by Manchester businessman Reuben Singh to provide small firms with 24-hour secretarial services is to create 500 jobs in Greater Manchester.

Alldaypa is to open a call centre at either Salford Quays or Cheetham Hill, near the MEN Arena, in a £7m expansion scheme.

Company spokesman Spencer McDonald said Alldaypa plumped for the north west after looking at Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Glasgow, Leeds and North London.

It already has 70 staff at its Salford Quays HQ. The group has a workforce of 150, with some in London and IT specialists in the US. Mr McDonald said: ‘‘We have earmarked two locations in Greater Manchester. One is a building at Salford Quays, the other is a development site off Cheetham Hill Road.

‘‘We are already based in Greater Manchester and it makes sense to grow here. We looked at the logistical requirements of the staff, who may not own cars yet, need to get into the city. Metrolink was a major factor in our thinking.’’

The new jobs will be for call-centre based secretaries who provide telephone answering, dictation and other services.

The firm has 1,500 clients, mainly companies with one to 10 employees which do not have the budget or space to hire their own secretaries.