IRW Systems, one of Scotland's largest independent high-end software groups, has announced a three-year expansion to double turnover and create at least 30 new highly-skilled IT jobs.

 

The workforce has grown by 12 in the past year to 38, helped by the opening of an Aberdeen office to target public and private sector businesses in the North East and Tayside.

The three-year plan aims to grow turnover to at least £5 million and take staffing to around 70. The focus is on organic growth but the company will also consider acquisitions and strategic partnerships.

IRW's clients include ScottishPower, Babcock, BAE Systems, Na, The British Library, Student Loans, Schlumberger, McCurrach and a growing portfolio of owner-managed businesses.

One commission for NATO involved the design of a global pirate tracking and monitoring system, while another allows a major debt recovery client to track the performance of its field-based teams.

Founded 20 years ago by majority shareholder Ian Warnock, the Paisley-based group survived a short-lived merger when acquirer Albanet collapsed into administration in 2006, and it has doubled turnover to £2.5m since reforming as a management buy-out.

Mr Warnock said: "That was the catalyst, when we bought the business back out from institutional investors we had to regroup a bit to get on track. But the last year or two has shown pretty good growth of 30% and we are trying to continue that now."

Mr Warnock said the group had received "a lot of help" from Scottish Enterprise but might now look for some external investment alongside its current roster of private shareholders who had bought into the business.

He said 40% to 50% of business was south of the Border, where the group was able to offer high-end service at lower cost.

"The level we work at is not that common and we also go in competitively on price, which in London is pretty helpful. Even with the travel costs we can compete well and we have got some presence down there."

Mr Warnock said the market was "very buoyant both in Scotland and the UK", with a boost to activity from IRW's new presence in Aberdeen. He said: "There is plenty of requirement up there, and not a lot of providers in the Aberdeen area."

He said the drives for efficiency in the health service and in local and central government had helped IRW, adding: "They are all very actively investing in good IT to make their operations more effective - in the NHS and councils we see a lot of higher-level demand for pretty leading edge services."

IRW specialises in innovative software and portal design, development and support services. Its bespoke solutions are built around Microsoft SharePoint, CRM, Mobile, web and Cloud based systems.

It has built an extensive customer base across sectors including defence, health, police forces, local authorities, engineering, manufacturing, finance, professional services and the third sector.