INTERNET search company WebCertain has bought a majority stake in Yellowtom UK, an internet search platform, which uses vouchers to promote small local businesses.

WebCertain, which employs about 50 to 60 people in its headquarters at Northminster Business Park in York, and has offices in the US, Norway, Poland, India and China, has pledged to invest £500,000 in the development of the platform in the first 18 months.

Yellowtom, a franchise operation which has spun out from Yorkshire to operate in 350 UK towns as well as Spain, Ireland and the US, was created in 2003 by Nigel Rush. WebCertain has provided its search engine optimisation services since 2004 and helped the business with other evolutions.

Mr Rush said he decided to sell the share to WebCertain so they could invest in developing the service. “We recognised there was a significant opportunity for Yellowtom in the rapidly emerging local advertising market because of our ability to provide a highly personal service to local businesses.

“Yellowtom was already heading in this direction, but needed further investment to enable us to grow rapidly. We also see huge opportunities to roll out our approach to many international markets. Joining with the team at WebCertain was an obvious solution meaning we could move much faster.”

The business has been renamed WebCertain Local, of which Nigel becomes chairman.

Andy Atkins-Krueger, chief executive of the WebCertain Group has become managing director of the majority-owned subsidiary.

He said: “We had identified a gap in the market for businesses wanting to very rapidly target local markets internationally and Yellowtom was the obvious vehicle enabling us to very quickly provide an effective solution. We aim to put businesses on the map in Manchester, Munich and Moscow, without having to target whole countries.”