WITH £2.6million first half revenues, Beeks Financial Cloud is a relatively small company but its success may have a greater significance for Scotland than the numbers suggest.

As the developer of cloud-based trading systems that link major financial institutions with exchanges around the world, Beeks operates in the closely watched financial technology sector.

Its experience is likely to encourage hopes that so-called Fintech could be a lucrative long term growth market for Scotland.

The company offers services that are winning a following among financial services firms ranging from banks to hedge funds in leading centres, such as London, New York

and Tokyo.

It operates in a niche

within the financial services industry that is set to grow significantly as the increasing popularity of computer-driven trading fuels demand for related technologies.

Beeks has opened centres overseas and made acquisitions in the USA in what has been a fairly bold attempt to capitalise on the opportunities it has identified.

However, the company has kept its headquarters in Scotland along with key functions such as software development.

Chief executive and founder Gordon McArthur scoffs at the notion that the Linwood-based company need move these to financial centres overseas, in which it has sales staff and data facilities.

He notes that Beeks can access world class technology talent in Scotland, which is producing many graduates with skills that could be used to develop services to meet the needs of other financial services firms.

It can also tap into a good supply of people with sophisticated finance industry skills in Scotland. These include many who return home to the country after working in The City.

Beeks is only seven years old. But it has developed a model that others in Scotland will hope to replicate.