DURHAM University spin-off company Bede has raised more than £700,000 with a share issue that will help fund 30 jobs it hopes to create by the end of the year.

The group, which makes testing equipment for the semiconductor industry, has overcome a severe downturn in the industry and issued shares that were in high demand among City investors.

The share price rose more yesterday than the closing price on Wednesday night of the shares themselves - which chief executive Neil Loxley said was rare.

Bede also announced yesterday that it had secured a number of deals to provide its x-ray testing equipment.

The company has won its first contract with a European semiconductor manufacturer for equipment that will check defects during the manufacturing process. It received another order from one of the world's leading suppliers of memory chips - the closing order in a multi-million pound contract.

Dr Loxley said: "We are recruiting heavily at the moment. We had a record order intake in the first quarter and we expect a strong order intake in the second quarter.

"We were under pressure from investors to provide more shares because there was a lot of demand and no-one was selling."

He said the increasing demand among manufacturers showed the growing importance of x-ray technology and Bede's lead in the market.

The total value of year to date sales, combined with order backlog, was £5m following the two contract wins.

Bede predicted earlier this year that despite a downturn in the industry, it had weathered the storm and was ready for an influx of orders.