Cooper Software plans to add jobs after cash boost

A FIFE software firm that counts BAE Systems, BSkyB and Bristow Helicopters among its clients is to create 20 jobs after receiving a £700,000 cash injection.

Frank Cooper and firm proud to continue with investment. Picture: Contributed

Cooper Software, which currently employs some 40 people, recently moved from Dunfermline to its new headquarters in Dalgety Bay and said the funding boost would help with its
“aggressive” growth plans.

In June, it unveiled a 48 per cent surge in annual revenues to £2.8 million as it announced that Colin Gove, a former finance analyst at Edinburgh-based audio chip developer Wolfson, would be joining as finance director.

The firm’s decision to remain in Fife instead of relocating to Edinburgh or Glasgow was supported by a £200,000 regional selective assistance grant from Scottish Enterprise.

Managing director Frank Cooper said: “Fife has built up a strong reputation for being a domain for software, gaming and multimedia development and we are very proud to continue investing in the region.”

Donald Campbell, account manager at Scottish Enterprise, added: “We look forward to working with the company to realise its ambitious growth plans.”

The software company has also received a £500,000 loan from NatWest to help part-fund the expansion in its headcount.
Cooper, who founded the firm in 2005, said: “With this investment in place we can continue our aggressive plans to develop further areas of the business, in particular internationally.”

The firm, which has other offices in Manchester and in Stockholm, Sweden, is a major provider of products and services developed to tap into applications built by IFS, the Swedish software heavyweight, and supplies barcode applications for warehouse and inventory management systems.

Last year it sparked speculation about a possible stock market flotation when it appointed former Wolfson finance chief George Elliott as a board adviser. He has now taken on the role of non-executive chairman.

Elliott also chairs Edinburgh-based dating website operator Cupid and fellow Aim-quoted firm Craneware, the maker of billing software for US hospitals.