A hi-tech data consultancy in York was today celebrating the latest sale of its pioneering student analysis tool - this time to Southampton University.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, now puts LGO1, based at the York Science Park, in the forefront of the battle to create a fairer recruitment system for universities by targeting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Delivery to Southampton is expected to be next month and while the tailored software is being prepared, talks are going on with four other universities.

It comes in the wake of a clutch of similar new contracts for LGO1's Analysis of Student Participation (ASP) software.

Last month, the six-person firm announced that Leeds University, home to more than 29,000 students, had joined the growing number of higher education establishments using ASP. That represented a special milestone for the company, whose owner/directors first met in a basement room at Leeds University before setting up on their own in 2000.

Ten per cent of UK universities, including Sheffield, Bristol and Newcastle already take advantage of the company's electronic maps, which pinpoint where potential students come from and overlay data of average earnings and house prices. It also pinpoints nearby schools and sixth form colleges where useful recruitment visits could be made.

The deal comes only months after LGO1 received a £45,000 SMART award from the Department of Trade and Industry to support development of its electronic map data, whose potential is reckoned at about £5 million.

Director Robin Whyte reports that successes, meanwhile, have brought turnover to about £300,000 with the hope of doubling that in the next 12 months.

Updated: 09:51 Wednesday, December 17, 2003