A £25 million private hospital will create more than 100 jobs.

Construction work has already started at the former Legal and General building on the corner of Davigdor Road and Montefiore Road in Hove.

The hospital will be managed by Spire Healthcare and provide a wide range of outpatient and inpatient services.

The jobs will include medical staff such as nurses and radiographers along with administration workers and cleaners who are all expected to generate a stream of new businesses for nearby shops.

The five-storey building, which has been empty for six years, is owned by Scottish Widows Investment Partnership.

Work will involve gutting the inside and fitting it out with medical equipment, three operating theatres, consultation rooms, beds and communal areas.

The new Montefiore Hospital will be run by Matthew Dronsfield, who is also overseeing the 15 month construction phase.

He said: “The aim is to make this a centre of excellence for private healthcare and we intend to offer some of the most up-to-date clinical care in the country.

“We will be providing a broad range of services including outpatient clinics, carrying out MRI and CT scans and performing operations such as hernias or hip replacements.

“It represents a tremendously exciting development and should make the city an even more desirable place to live and work.”

The hospital is due to open in the summer of 2012.