Regional and local newspapers across the country, including The Argus, have today delivered a huge boost to UK business by pledging an unprecedented £15 million of free advertising to the most dynamic fledgling enterprises.

The bold initiative, backed by Dragons’ Den judge Deborah Meaden, is called Local Business Accelerators (LBA) and is being spearheaded by the voice of local media, the Newspaper Society.

Nearly 500 local press publications are joining forces to promote the strength and value of local newspapers for local businesses and communities.

Together, the local press industry will search for the nation’s most promising young businesses and help them accelerate their success with top professional advice from local business mentors plus a substantial allocation of free advertising space in their local publication.

What’s more, one lucky business picked from the hundreds of regional winners will get individual mentoring sessions from the LBA national ambassador Ms Meaden, who will become a consultant and mentor to the business for one year.

For the full story see today's Argus.