US digital publishing firm Highwire Press to create jobs in Belfast

The investment was announced as Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness met with HighWire executives in San Francisco as part of their business promotion visit to the US.

The jobs will be created by 2019.

The digital publishing platform disseminates more than 3,000 journals, books and reference works.

Stormont business support agency Invest NI has offered the company £739,220 towards job creation and post employment training while the Department of Employment and Learning has contributed £222,000 as part of its Assured Skills Programme for pre-employment training academies.

Dan Filby, chief executive of HighWire, said: "We are very excited about our investment in Belfast. As well as providing us with a dedicated technology development centre it will also provide us with a focal point on which to build our continued presence in Europe.

"An outstanding, abundant talent pool was our highest priority when evaluating potential expansion locations. We are looking for talented and enthusiastic technical and service professionals that can help drive the development of our industry leading software solutions and deliver an outstanding customer experience."

Mrs Foster welcomed the investment.

"The total investment as a result of this project, supported by Invest Northern Ireland, equates to nearly £6 million and is a great boost to Belfast's reputation as number one in Europe for new software development projects," she said.

Mr McGuinness added: "HighWire choosing to locate in the north of Ireland signals the potential of our existing and future IT professionals.

"The 74 new jobs created will contribute £3 million in annual salaries to our local economy. With an average salary of £34,000 they will provide a wide range of opportunities for software developers, quality assurance, professional services and support engineers."