A £6.5m expansion plan will see around 80 new jobs created at a North-East software company.

PrismTech announced yesterday it had completed a finance-raising package which would allow the firm to expand its Team Valley base.

The company is one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK showing annual growth rates in excess of 60 per cent for the past five years.

PrismTech say the jobs created over the next two years will include computer programmers and sales and marketing staff.

Chief executive Keith Steele was delighted to have secured the capital injection commenting: "The company is poised for significant further expansion both here in Europe, and in the United States.

"This financial package will help us expand the sales and marketing of the product at a greater pace than would otherwise have been possible."

The firm has already completed development of OpenFusion, software that delivers the key to solving the enterprise integration puzzle that many of today's global corporations are facing.

OpenFusion helps enterprises build integrated software which can flexibly and reliably meet the needs of all IT users, including employees, customers and suppliers.

The syndicate of investors was led by Northern Venture Mangers and includes ACT Venture Capital, Advent Venture Partners, 3i and Northern Enterprise Ltd.

Tim Levett, of Northern Venture Mangers said: "PrismTech is a fast growing company with a very bright future.

"We arc backing a first class management team which has the opportunity to establish the company as a truly international provider of integrated software solutions, and substantially increase profits over the next few years."

PrismTech was founded in 1992 and has offices in the UK, US and across continental Europe.