THERE will be no rest over the festive holiday for staff at the new £60m Rolls-Royce factory on the south coast as the new addition to the BMW stable gears up to deliver its first car on January 1.

More than 300 staff have now been recruited to work for the luxury car manufacturer which has its new headquarters at Goodwood near Chichester.

The Rolls-Royce name moves from Volkswagen to BMW ownership on January 1 when a brand new car will be launched.

"It is proving to be a very exciting time for us,'' said spokesman Fred Fruth, general manager public affairs, who has been spearheading the project on the edge of the Goodwood Estate.

"Production has begun and everything is on schedule to deliver to our first customer on January 1.''

The build-up to the opening began back in 2000 with the planning application for the site at Goodwood and staff have been gradually moving into the new premises this year.

Final touches are now being put to the development with the site set to be landscaped in the spring.

Inside the new facility staff have been updating their skills using the latest in new technology to produce the luxury four door saloon being hand-built at Goodwood.

Meanwhile the recruitment programme continues with Rolls-Royce still looking to take on 30 more people in the leather shop.

"Its an ideal opportunity for local craftspeople to join us,'' said Mr Fruth. "We are looking for people who are skilful with their hands and even if their background is not with leather we train everyone to use their skills using the latest technology.''

Staff already working in this area range from 18 to 62 years old and Mr Fruth said staff are working with the highest quality materials, laser cutting machines and personal skills.

The entire manufacturing and engineering resources of the BMW Group have been available to the Project Rolls-Royce team as the new company takes shape and the new motor car will have an all new space frame aluminium body and a unique V12 engine, both hand built by skilled technicians and delivered to Goodwood.