An American software company has announced it will create 40 new jobs in Tayside after receiving a £3.1 million grant from Scottish Enterprise.
Cherwell Software opened a research and development centre in the Dundee One building at City Quay last year.
It now intends to invest £8.9 million into its city operation and increase its staffing levels to almost 60 workers.
Dundee will lead the development of the next generation of the Colorado-headquartered company’s specialist software, which is used by thousands of companies in the healthcare, finance, education, retail and government sectors.
Josh Turpen, chief product officer at Cherwell, said: “Our expansion plans in Scotland are pretty ambitious.
“Over the next three years we will hire an additional 40 engineers in Dundee. We are planning a small expansion of our US team but most of the company’s growth will be focused on Dundee.
“The support from the universities in Dundee has been great and we love the talent pool in Scotland.”
Mr Turpen said the grant from Scottish Enterprise had helped persuade the tech firm to increase its investment in Scotland rather than set up in other European locations.
He said the funding had helped mitigate any potential Brexit implications.
“The grant supports our continued investment in Scotland,” he said.
“We had the choice of going to other locations in Europe and we looked at Germany and England.
“To help defray some of the investment costs was a big inducement.
“It also defrays any Brexit concerns. It would have been easy to put the office in Frankfurt or Munich. Coming to Scotland is a bit more of a risk but one we are happy to take.”
The firm currently employs 22 staff in Dundee and the number is expected to double by the end of the year. Cherwell intends to continue to staff up for the following two years.
Neil Francis, director of trade and investment at Scottish Enterprise, described the £3.1m award as a “good investment” for Scotland.
He said: “This is a long term commitment to Dundee with significant employment opportunities. Attracting firms like Cherwell to Scotland will always be part of our economic strategy.
“The grant is targeted at research and development and it will be a very good investment for Scotland and for Dundee.”
Cherwell’s technology allows companies to automate many of their administration functions, boosting efficiency and productivity.
