QinetiQ buys software company

has announced that it has agreed to purchase Hampshire-based

(GRC) for £1 million.

GRC was spun out from an MOD initiative in 1989 to enhance and make commercially available an existing MOD-developed Warship and Submarine design and analysis software tool. A software tool set known as Paramarine now forms the core of its business.

Andrew Sleigh, group managing director of QinetiQ's defence business, said, “GRC meets our firm criteria for acquisitions in the UK: it is profitable and successful in its own right, has a strong management team and complementary technical skills. A key interest for us, under the management of Dr Ian Prescott who heads QinetiQ's Sea Division, is the ability to continue the development of the Paramarine software design suite by drawing on our own expertise in this field.”

The managing director of GRC, Adam Askew, said, “The GRC team is looking forward to building on our long-standing relationship with QinetiQ and we anticipate a strong future together.”

GRC's 14 staff are already based at QinetiQ's Haslar Marine Technology Park, and will become part of QinetiQ's Sea Division. QinetiQ will continue to sell the Paramarine product and associated consulting services.