A York software firm today announced that it had acquired half of one of its distributors in Ireland.

Mitrefinch Ltd, based on the Green Lane trading estate at Clifton Moor, has paid £100,000 to bring its shareholding of Advance Systems Ireland (ASI) up to 50 per cent.

The deal means that Mitrefinch can now increase the supply and range of its advanced human resource packages for large and major firms in Ireland.

And that is likely eventually to lead to yet more expansion of the York company in terms of both manpower, which stands at 60, and turnover, which has already risen by 25 per cent annually over the past eight years to £4 million.

A boost of 25 per cent in ASI sales as well as expansion of its staff by a fifth is now forecast as a result of the deal which coincides with the launch of a new Mitrefinch human resources package.

The agreement adds to Mitrefinch's growing interests abroad. Only last year it celebrated its 25th anniversary by opening a Paris office through a French distributor.

Dublin-based ASI has been a Mitrefinch distributor since 1996 - and is still the largest in its network.

Andrew Simpson, managing director of Mitrefinch, which has supplied computerised labour management for the likes of Nestl at York, British Airways and Walker Foods, said the Ireland deal was a strategic move towards expanding international business.

He said: "We already had a stake in ASI which is a well-run business and has built up a solid reputation in Ireland.

"I feel positive that this deal will be extremely beneficial to both parties."

Gary Corcoran, ASI's managing director, said that he was very pleased with the new deal, and announced plans to increase staff by 20 per cent over the coming year.

He said: "There is a massive demand for computerised labour management and human resource management systems in Ireland, largely due to the significant increase in the number of businesses which have set up here over the past two years".

Mitrefinch Ltd claims to be the market leader in labour management and human resource solutions. It pioneered the labour management industry with the invention of the first computerised time recording solution which was launched on BBC's Tomorrow's World. All its products are manufactured at Clifton Moor.

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