York is on the verge of a software boom, with three Information Technology companies set to bring more than 100 jobs to the city.

Marking the new software jobs for York are, from left, Emma Martin, marketing manager for York Inward Investment Board,Jon Sandles, Jo-Ho, Duncan Pearson (all of Adaytum Software), and Anna Rooke, project manager with Science City, York

And international inquiries about the prospects for locating in York have been flooding in from software firms from as far away as the South Pacific.

The three firms who have opened offices in York arePhoenix Software, one of the country's most successful suppliers of computer software, which is re-locating 70 jobs from Barmby Moor near Pocklington but also creating 20 new jobs, Adaytum Software, who say they have opened offices here because of the excellent rail connections to London and Manchester Airport, plus the "exceptional quality of life that York offers," and K-NET Ltd, a leading specialist in high-speed computer networks.

The jobs boost comes only four months after the official launch of Science City York by Science Minister Lord Sainsbury, who described it as an "outstanding initiative."

The science project aims to create more than 1,600 jobs during the next five years in three fields: bioscience and heathcare, heritage and arts technology, and information and communications technology.

Science City York's Project Manager Anna Rooke says there has been immense support and interest from both local and external businesses.

The York Inward Investment Board says the number of inquiries generated between November and March was up by 250 per cent on the same period last year.

"We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of IT inquiries," said the board's marketing manager Emma Martin.

"As well as UK-based companies, we have had inquiries from as far afield as the South Pacific Islands. Closer to home, we've had a number of home-grown York companies who wish to expand to larger premises."

Phoenix is locating the software part of its business next door to its existing training centre in Tadcaster Road, providing the firm with one business centre for all its divisions.

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