Sussex Innovation Centre, start-up home to some of the most successful businesses in the county, is to double in size.

The University of Sussex and Brighton and Hove Council are jointly funding an expansion which will cost £3million, the lion's share coming from the university.

The centre, located on the university campus, will be able to house more than 60 businesses and offer specialist facilities and access to leading academics and research facilities.

Planning permission for the project has been granted and work is expected to start in the next few weeks.

The new block will adjoin the existing building, which was opened in 1996. It will provide larger units for existing tenants, freeing smaller units for new tenants.

When fully occupied it should provide 150 jobs.

The centre acts as an incubator for new businesses which have three years to prove themselves before finding premises elsewhere.

Mike Herd, executive director of the centre and Sussex Businessman of the Year, said the investment would encourage some of the brightest graduates to consider starting their own businesses.

Glynn Jones, chief executive of Brighton and Hove Council which has allocated cash to the project, said: "It has an enviable reputation that I'm sure will make it the blueprint for this sort of business centre."

University vice-chancellor Alasdair Smith said: "We have had inquiries from businesses as far away as Manchester and northern France about moving in here.

"It's very important for employment and is a vital link between the world of business and the university. It attracts investment to the university in the form of research."

One of the first businesses to thrive at the centre was Genpak, founded by Dr Julian Burke, who started his business in a garden shed.

It now is a leading specialist in the development and supply of reagents and equipment for use in DNA analysis.