A South Lakeland telecoms training company is ringing the changes by leaving its base for nearly half a century and moving to new premises.

Bosses at Wray Castle Ltd say there a number of reasons behind the relocation, which will see the high-tech firm move from the National Trust-owned castle on the western shores of Windermere to the former Scottish Provident offices at Bridge Mills, Kendal.

The firm is taking 4,000 sq ft of office space in the prestige riverside building and plans to complete the move by the end of this month.

Wray Castle is the second company to take space at Bridge Mills law firm Temple Heelis moved in last year. The plush premises had previously stood empty for many months after Scottish Provident pulled out of the town in December 2002.

Wray Castle chairman and managing director Allan Richens said there were a number of reasons behind the firm's relocation, including: l Fewer staff 13 people will be based at Bridge Mills, a fraction of the number who once worked for Wray Castle before restructuring in the telecoms industry. A further five UK staff work from home, and the firm's US subsidiary also employs five staff.

l The need for more convenient and flexible office space.

l The ability to tap into better technology, such as fast-speed broadband access to the internet.

l Lower costs Wray Castle will no longer need to employ staff to maintain the castle and its extensive grounds, resulting in the loss of five jobs.

Mr Richens said leaving the castle was a blow and the firm would miss the grandeur of its setting, but it was time to move on.

The company had chosen Kendal because good office space was available along with better communication links and the fact that most staff lived nearby.

"It will enable us to work much better and more efficiently," said Mr Richens, adding the firm would also benefit from being closer to local services such as printing.

Wray Castle continues to play a pivotal role in training telecoms engineers how to use and understand sophisticated technologies and techniques.

The firm enables customers to understand how telecom systems work, to deploy new technology, improve reliability and optimise networks.

Wray Castle trainers also brief non-technical workers at telecom companies, such as help desk call centre and sales staff, on what their company does and the telecom industry in general.

A total of 3,400 people have been on Wray Castle training courses so far this year, up 44 per cent on the previous year.

All the top UK network operators, such as Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and Virgin, as well as overseas network operators including AT&T and Cingular in the US, call on Wray Castle for specialist training.

The firm's client list also features the big-name handset manufacturers, notably Nokia, Ericcson and Motorola.

Wray Castle also provides training for a number of service providers and regulatory authorities, including Ofcom in the UK.

The firm's wealth of expertise in its field is in demand around the globe staff travelled to 25 different countries to deliver training courses this year alone.

In addition to its Kendal headquarters and an office at Abington, near Oxford, the firm has a sister firm in Michigan, USA, and has a partnership in Dubai covering the Middle East and Africa.

Mr Richens said the telecoms industry had suffered a dip in recent years, but Wray Castle had ridden the storm and was now on the up again, and looking to expand its overseas operations, especially in north America.

l Wray Castle is likely to remain as business premises. John Milton of letting agents Carigiet Cowen said a potential new tenant was lined up, but it was too early to disclose any further details.