An insurance company has teamed up with a festival to root out new talent.

Legal & General is offering bursaries to encourage home- grown artists who want to take part in next year’s Brighton Fringe.

Frances Borrer, CSR manager at the firm in The Droveway, Hove, said that 12 Fringe events will qualify for a bursary in 2012 and that each bursary consists of a free registration, additional profile in the Fringe brochure and additional marketing and publicity generated to promote the scheme and those that have qualified through e-newsletters, the website and various media coverage.

She said: “This is about supporting small businesses – that’s all of the artists involved in the fringe. The Fringe is a well-loved local festival. Our employees go to it and enjoy it so we want to give it our support.”