A major American company is to set up its European headquarters in York, thrilled leaders in the city learned today.

Total System Services Inc (TYSIS), of Columbus, Georgia, has bought the sleek 41,000 sq ft four-storey headquarters of the Shepherd Building Group at Fulford Moor House, in York, for a UK customer services centre, spending undisclosed millions of pounds.

A huge welcome is being prepared for the American families of the first occupiers of the award-winning building once they start moving in from January. Some jobs will be administrative, others technical.

TYSIS is not disclosing how many people ultimately will be called to set up the European operation, but there is speculation that at first it could be as many as 50, with room for at least 150 more local jobs, given that at one time more than 200 Shepherd staff occupied the premises.

TYSIS, a global payment card processor, has more than 179 million accounts on file and offers a range of business services from credit application to collections for credit, debit, commercial and retail accounts.

It is an 80.8 per cent owned subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corporation, and listed by Fortune Magazine in the top five of the 100 best US companies to work for.

Coun Rod Hills, chairman of York Inward Investment Board and leader of the City of York Council, hailed the news as a "welcome antidote to the negative PR about the floods" and said it was proof that York could still attract hi-tech businesses.

Shepherd Building Group announced in June that it planned to move out of Fulford Moor House, which was opened by Princess Margaret five years ago and at the time cost £4.4 million to build.

The huge family firm announced that because head office staff numbers had dwindled to 75 through years of gradual job cuts and transfers, the building was too big for its purposes. Paul Murphy, chief executive of York Inward Investment Board, compared the arrival of TSYS to the arrival of other US giants like Thrall Europa and CPP in Holgate Road.

He said: "We now have an impressive range of investors in a variety of sectors spreading the message that York is a quality business location."

Anna Rooke, project manager of Science City York, welcomed the news. She said: "While full details of the jobs are still to come it is already clear that TSYS is a high technology financial services company. We look forward to welcoming them into York's growing IT community."