Brighton and Hove has scooped millions of pounds to build up business.

The South East England Development Agency has nominated the town as one of five in the South East to become an Enterprise Hub, with funding of £9 million.

The aim is to provide workspace for new and expanding businesses and encourage entrepreneurs to set up with the help of universities and private organisations.

Simon Fanshawe, chairman of Brighton and Hove's city bid, The Place to Be, has been appointed Business Champion.

He said: "It is very exciting. I see it as a machine which will try to turn people's business dreams into business realities.

"At the moment we have an economy which is partially strong. We need to provide work for people because a lot of the economy, about 80 per cent, is micro-businesses employing fewer than ten people.

"We have to strengthen the economy and try to increase the number of well-paid jobs by helping businesses to grow."

At present about half of all business start-ups in the UK fail in the first five years. The agency wants to increase the survival rate to 80 per cent.

A steering group and Mr Fanshawe will work with Brighton and Hove Council to identify workspaces for new businesses to start up and room for existing ones to grow.

Mr Fanshawe said what made the Brighton and Hove bid original was its plan to build a "portal database" bringing together all the business support services on a website.

Children would also be encouraged to take part in business games and set up their own micro-businesses.

He said: "We want to put the message out that being a successful entrepreneur is something that anybody and everybody should think about."