A NEW £3.5 million building is being constructed in York to take the overflow of the growing staff numbers at Agilisys.

When the 25,000 sq ft project, known as Meridian 2, off Blossom Street is completed at the end of November, three of its five floors will be occupied by the IT company and the remaining two will be occupied by Jarvis, its part-owners.

Agilisys' main headquarters will continue to occupy an entire floor at Jarvis House, York. In the last six months, the numbers on the Agilisys payroll have soared from 400 to 500 and a further 300 are expected to be recruited over the next 18 months.

Meanwhile, 50 of the staff have temporarily moved into the offices at the Transco site at Heworth Green, where the Access 24:7 "showcase room" is based.

The Meridian 2 project, on what was a car park in The Crescent behind Prudential House, next to the Odeon cinema, is being co-ordinated by developers The Helmsley Group for the Blossom Street Venture, which owns the site as well as Prudential House.

Updated: 15:04 Tuesday, September 23, 2003