Fund’s €8m investment in IT firm to create 100 jobs

Up to 100 jobs will be created after the Government-backed BDO Development Capital Fund announced an €8m investment in Irish IT services company Version 1.

This marks the €75m fund’s first investment since it was launched in March as part of the Government’s Development Capital Scheme, through which a total of €225m is being made available to mid-sized Irish companies with significant growth potential.

As part of this scheme, €75m in funds from the Department of Jobs, through Enterprise Ireland, will be matched with €150m of private sector funding for investments in Irish companies through a series of different funds. The investment will enable Version 1’s further expansion into the UK and creation of up to 100 additional IT consultancy jobs in Ireland.

Version 1 was founded in 1996 by Justin Keatinge and is today one of the fastest growing IT services companies in Western Europe, according to a statement from the Department of Enterprise.

“The company has grown organically to become a trusted technology partner to major domestic and international customers across all industry sectors in the UK and Ireland,” it said.

The company has doubled both profitability and revenue over the last few years, it said.

“Version 1 is enjoying a very exciting stage,” said Version 1 founder Justin Keatinge.

“Today’s announcement provides us with the investment needed to take our growth and planned development through acquisition. We are a results-driven organisation, which prides itself on helping our partners strive for excellence in their areas of expertise.”

He said his company would also benefit by tapping into the expertise that comes with the fund, which has an advisory panel with members including Bank of Ireland, Glen Dimplex, CRH and Glanbia.