A YORK-BASED marketing and design company says a unique communications tool will enable the firm to triple in size over the next three years and increase employee numbers by more than six-fold.

The Morrice Partnership, a six-person firm at York Science Park, has created Netp.a., a software solution enabling teams within national and multinational companies working on different sites - or in different countries - to communicate with each other and share project information.

The partnership has become one of 28 companies with high-growth ambitions to get help and advice from the Business Accelerator Network (BAN).

BAN exists to help young fast growing companies overcome the specific difficulties associated with rapid growth.

It was developed by Business Link York and North Yorkshire with support and funding from Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund.

It will be there to guide managing director Richard Morrice who confidently predicts a boom through sales of Net p.a.

Mr Morrice, who has years of experience of working in and on behalf of multinational corporations, established the partnership 20 years ago and saw turnover rise to £750,000 in the last financial year.

That picture has rapidly changed with the invention of Net p.a.

He said: "Our principal targets are national and multinationals employing geographically dispersed people who need to be in regular contact with each other to deliver projects jointly.

"We certainly appear to have found a niche in the market because our sales forecasts show that we will be tripling in size over the next three years. At this rate of growth we will soon be employing 40-plus people."

Already membership of the Business Accelerator Network has proved valuable, said Mr Morrice.

"We received financial support that has helped us with business development. This, alongside the support that other network members have given us, has provided the practical assistance and on-going encouragement that are vital for success."

Updated: 11:44 Friday, August 26, 2005