Northern Ireland construction firm Graham is to create 200 construction jobs in Co Down after receiving planning permission for a new £10m (€12.6m) eco-friendly headquarters to be built just outside the town of Hillsborough.

The building will allow the company to increase its workforce to 1,200 by creating 200 construction jobs in Northern Ireland over the next two years.

The construction company has also been highlighted as one of three firms from the North in the Sunday Times UK top 100 'fastest profit makers'. The privately owned family company established in 1878, has seen profits grow by an average of 58 per cent in each of the last three years - topping out at £5.7m (€7.2m) last year.

The eco-friendly HQ building will use a biomass boiler and collect rainwater and Graham hope it will receive the highest award level for sustainable buildings - the "excellent" BREEM rating.