US-based technology firm, KANA Software, has invested £7m in a new development in Belfast, bringing 109 new jobs with it.

Enterprise minister Arlene Foster made the announcement, adding that Invest Northern Ireland has offered £981,000 to help the company open a new development, consulting services and technical support unit in the city.

KANA Software, which acquired local firm Lagan Technologies last November, specialises in technology used in service management. The firm’s client base includes companies such as Adidas, Nokia and eBay. Lagan will continue to trade within the KANA organisation and will maintain its focus on ’government to citizen technology’.

The combined businesses will trade from the existing Lagan Technologies facility, which has been headquartered in Belfast since 1994.

Over the next three years, KANA will more than double the workforce of the newly-combined businesses, strengthening Belfast’s position as one of the UK’s leading technology hubs.