SOFTWARE company Eutechnyx is creating 15 jobs after a £250,000 investment loan from fund manager NEL.

The Gateshead studio employs more than 100 staff and is looking for 15 graduates and experienced game developers to work on new titles.

The specialist video game developer has expertise in driving and racing games and has developed games including Ford Mustang the Legend Lives; the Bafta award-winning Big Mutha Truckers one of the top-selling games in the US; Test Drive Le Mans, and many others.

It is developing Fast and the Furious and Cartoon Network Racing, and is now plan- ning to increase its £4m turnover.

NEL's Evolve Finance division invested £250,000 to help the company take on staff to develop new games.

Eutechnyx, which has offices on the MetroCentre business park and in Hong Kong, also received funding last month from the Tyne and Wear Development Company to help its growth plans.

Darren Jobling, business development director at Eutechnyx, said: "Eutechnyx is really proud to be able to offer excellent career prospects with graduates in physics, computing, artificial intelligence or an appropriate graphic art-based degree.

"Our new staff will be working on development contracts awarded by blue-chip publishers from around the world.

"Modern communications technology now means that distance and location is of much less importance and Eutechnyx has been successful in developing strong business relationships across the globe, but with the US and Far East in particular."

Steve Garbutt, fund manager at NEL, said: "Eutechnyx has a highly-skilled development team that includes six doctors from scientific disciplines.

"They have used this expertise to carve out a real niche in the video game vehicle racing sector."

Evolve Finance manages the North-East Investment Fund 3, which received £8.1m of European funding, through Government Office North-East.

The region's video games industry, centred mainly on Teesside and Tyneside, has more than doubled in size in recent years and employs more than 400 people, generating revenue of more than £15m.