A RAPIDLY expanding e-commerce agency is creating around 20 jobs after securing a large deal.

Gene Commerce, in East Street, Brighton, has sold revolutionary software to Magento, a tech company in Silicon Valley.

CEO Matt Parkinson said: “It is great result for us which will enable us to grow and that’s also great news for the city.

“We are looking to take on about 20 new staff and it’s also encouraging and exciting to see Silicon Valley recognising talent here in Brighton.”

The new software created by Gene Commerce, called Bluefoot, is a content management system.

Matt said: “We saw a gap in the market about 12 months ago and our strategy was to create something that Magento would want to buy.

“Normally they create their own software so we are absolutely thrilled that they have bought this off us.

“We felt the gap was glaringly obvious and we decided to do something about it.

“Bluefoot was created to give Magento merchants an easy-to-use and powerful tool to manage their content.

“With Magento’s determination and commitment to delivering the very best in e-commerce solutions our hope is that now all its merchants will be able to benefit from this technology.”

Matt said the deal was crucial because of the cash investment he can now make into the company.

He said: “I am not in a position to say how much the sale was but suffice to say it was a significant amount.

“It has also given us worldwide exposure.

“We have developed something in-house which Magento has bought, which is very unusual.

“It also enhances our reputation and indeed the reputation of Brighton as a first class city of innovation.

“The software is high quality and very easy to use.”

The company hopes to take on the new staff within the next six to 12 months and already it is developing new software which Matt believes could become big in the future.

He is also a great believer in taking on local apprentices, which is high on the Government’s agenda to get more people in work.

He said: “We have employed six apprentices since we launched three and a half years ago and two of those were instrumental in Bluefoot.”

Magento is the leading platform for open commerce innovation.

Every year it handles more than 50 billion dollars in gross merchandise volume.

It works hand in hand with the world’s biggest retailers, brands and branded manufacturers.

It is supported by a vast global network of more than 300 solution and technology partners and by an active global community of more than 150,000 developers.

Matt said: “We are only a small agency at the moment but we took a very commercial approach to secure this deal.”