GB based Futrli is to invest almost £5.5 million in a new delivery centre in Belfast, with 80 new jobs to be created over three years, more than doubling its headcount.

Established in 2014, Futrli supports over 1,200 accountancy firms and 45,000 small businesses globally with software as a service (SaaS) products.

The latest, Futrli Platform, designed exclusively for small businesses, utilises artificial intelligence and machine learning to turn business data into actions, helping small companies manage the business of doing business.

The new Belfast delivery centre will help deliver the new Futrli Platform, with the first phase launched in June and the remainder to be rolled out throughout 2019.

It will also support the company’s continued business growth globally.

Welcoming the company to Belfast, Steve Harper, Executive Director of International Business at Invest Northern Ireland said:

“This investment, Futrli’s first in Northern Ireland, is a further endorsement of the strength of the Financial Services Technology sector here.

“The creation of 80 high quality jobs, with the average salary above £30,000, offers a range of attractive opportunities for graduates and experienced professionals.

“Encouraged by increased demand within the flourishing cloud accounting software sector, Futrli are implementing ambitious growth plans in new and existing markets. It is great news that this project will be delivered by a team based here in Northern Ireland.”

Once in place, the new jobs, which will be predominantly operations and software engineering roles, will generate almost £2.5 million in additional annual salaries for the local economy.

The company has been offered £440,000 towards creating the jobs by Invest NI. The Department for the Economy will provide training through the Assured Skills programme up to the value of £406,000.

Graeme Wilkinson, Director of Skills at the Department, said: “The Department’s Assured Skills programme has a proven track record of providing skilled people to local employers through collaboration with local Further and Higher Education providers.

“This support for Futrli will deliver 60 high quality, industry-relevant pre-employment training places at Belfast Met.

“Participants will gain the skills they need to progress a career in financial services and secure a guaranteed interview at the company upon successful completion of the training.

“I wish Futrli every success as the company takes forward its investment in Northern Ireland.”

Hannah Dawson, Founder and CEO of Futrli, said “Customer demand is rapidly accelerating as we continue to scale our release of Futrli Platform.

“Our new delivery centre in Belfast will be a huge asset to the business as we seek to make it available to small businesses globally and revolutionise how small businesses work.

“The tremendous wealth of local talent, access to top universities and proximity to our GB base were key factors in our decision to locate in Northern Ireland.

“Invest NI’s support has helped us to accelerate recruitment for this project and we are very much looking forward to expanding our team here.”

Futrli is headquartered in Brighton and with offices in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne.