AN ELECTRONICS firm based in Eastleigh hopes to expand in the future after it was bought by a Hartlepool firm.

Stadium Group Plc has bought IGT Industries Ltd, a designer and manufacturer of intelligent displays for the professional electronics market, for £4.2m.

Now that the two firms have joined together, Stadium chief executive Stephen Phipson hopes the business will expand beyond its 65 employees.

“I think it’s nothing but good news for IGT,” he said. “We can give it access to much more resources than what it’s got currently.

“It’s a very innovative workforce, and there’s no plan to consolidate the workforce or move it.”

IGT makes bespoke smartphone technology for various firms across many industries.

Some of its previous work includes creating the controls for the bridge of the Queen Mary 2, and it has also created the controls for trains, medical diagnostics equipment, food processing and aviation.

Stadium has collaborated previously with the Woodside Road Industrial Estate firm on other technology systems “IGT brings a fabulous creative side to the firm. Now we can go to the customer with a complete system rather than part of the system,” Mr Phipson said.

“We have known them for a while. They have got a lovely business with some wonderful customers and some of the latest technology that we like.

“What we can do with IGT is give them access to our customers which gives them access to more capital for growth.”

IGT’s revenue for the year ending October 31, 2011 was £5m and profits were £580,000.

Mr Phipson added that the takeover was an amicable arrangement “made over lots of cups of coffee” after several years working together.

Two of IGT’s directors are staying on for the next 12 months while a third will be retiring.