A Sussex consultancy firm has signed a £5 million deal with Northern Rock to maintain its software systems.

RDF Group will look after the bank's computer network from its offices in Queen Square, Brighton.

The three-year deal has guaranteed a minimum of 17 new jobs and is the biggest in RDF's ten-year history.

Managing director David Wood, who helped found RDF in 1994, said: "To secure a deal of this size with one of the darlings of the city is a big deal for us.

"It will provide RDF with committed-work levels, the opportunity to manage its costs more effectively and a platform for future growth."

RDF, which has a turnover of between £8 million and £9 million, expects the contract to start reaping rewards during the next financial year.

RDF was formed as a subsidiary of recruitment agency Eurolink Consultancy but was demerged in 1998 and floated on the stock market.

For the past five years its stock value has hovered around 29p per share but news of its deal with Northern Rock has seen prices rocket to about 50p.

The company was affected by the dot.com crash but weathered the storm thanks to a number of big-name contracts including BskyB and Friends Provident.

Mr Wood said: "We have been paddling on our own since 1998 and tied up with some big and challenging names.

"Things have slowly picked up over the past few years with the introduction of new technologies and the future is looking a lot brighter."

RDF has access to more than 50,000 technical staff through its agency database and has a core full-time staff of 20.

The idea behind the company is to offer businesses technical support off-site - RDF stands for Remote Development Facility - and it has proved a winner.

RDF has a nationwide presence, with a regional operating centre in Livingston, near Edinburgh.

Other major clients include Legal and General, Southern Water, Connect and NHS Scotland.

Wednesday March 10, 2004