A TECHNOLOGY company plans to create 30 new jobs and find new office space as experts predict it will make a profit for the first time next year.

Bosses at Darwen-based Bglobal want new workers to help it expand as it bids to become the world leader in the design and installation of energy-measuring ‘smart meters’.

Analysts say the market will grow as individuals, schools, and businesses strive to save energy, and money, by using the devices.

And that puts publicly-listed Bglobal in pole position in the sector.

Chief executive Tony Barnes said the company would look to create 30 new jobs in East Lancashire over the next year.

And he revealed the hunt is on for new premises to relieve the pressure on its headquarters, in Commercial Road.

He said: “We need some extra space because we are simply bursting at the seams here.

“We will still stay in this building, but we will require extra capacity too.

“However, we are not moving anywhere.

“We will stay in Blackburn and Darwen. We don’t want to leave this area.”

Bglobal, which was founded in 2004 and now trades on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), is one of just a handful of stock market-listed companies in East Lancashire.

However, the firm has yet to make a profit, although pre-tax losses narrowed from £4.3million to £680,000 this year.

And City analyst firm Charles Stanley expects Bglobal to turn in pre-tax profits of more than £4million in 2011.

Nick Baldwin, partner at Blackburn stockbroker Hedley and Co, said: “Bglobal is a growing company and it looks as if the business model is coming to fruition.

“It is the sort of company that will be very attractive to some investors.

“However, there is danger if a similar company begins manufacturing smart meters on a similar scale.”

Bglobal currently employs around 120 in Darwen. Earlier this year, it acquired Blackburn rival Utiligroup, of Blakewater Road, for £12.8million.