A Digital media company has announced plans to axe up to 25 employees, blaming changing global markets for a struggle to stay profitable.

Brighton-based Victoria Real, one of the early success stories in digital and web media production, said it had been forced to restructure to ensure continued profits.

The firm, which was the creative drive behind the web site for Channel 4's hit TV show Big Brother, has entered redundancy negotiations and could shed up to 20 per cent of its workforce.

Jobs across the range of digital media production, from web site and television designers to producers, face the axe.

In the past six years, Victoria Real has collected a variety of awards, including Digital Britain and British Interactive Multimedia Association awards for best use of e-commerce.

Ruth Cobb, head of marketing, said: "Essentially we are reviewing and restructuring our current working practices in response to changes in the global market economy.

"We are refocusing with the aim of streamlining our production process. Inevitably it will mean some existing roles will become redundant.

"It is difficult to say at this stage how many roles will be affected. It could be up to 20 per cent, but we don't anticipate it will be that many."

The company, based in Queen's Road, cited two key reasons for the job cuts.

It blamed a downturn in the global economy at a time when the company was forecasting for growth which had not been realised.

It also said it wanted to take the opportunity to look at departments which might be sharing roles in digital media which could be axed to make the company more efficient.

The firm was founded in 1990 as a television production company. In 1994 it switched to interactive media production, initially producing sports programming for Cable and Wireless.

It then moved on to interactive advertising for a pioneering BT video-on-demand trial.

The company now represents blue chip clients, developing online applications.