WINCHESTER could soon becoming a major player in the South's economy as the city university's plans to set up a regional learning centre for business skills receive a cash boost.

A £100,000 award from the Bulldog Trust will go towards the creation of a centre of excellence to be known as "The Winchester Business School".

The trust, established by Richard Hoare in 1983, exists to support educational and other charities. It has pledged £20,000 a year for five years to go towards the salary of a professor and head of the proposed business school. The university said the post would be advertised "soon".

"We're absolutely delighted with this generous show of faith from the Bulldog Trust," said vice-chancellor, Professor Joy Carter.

She hopes the grant will encourage other benefactors: "This sponsorship is important as seed-corn funding for a major strategic initiative.

We see the Winchester Business School as not only a key development for the university, but also for the region."

The university plans to create the new department from its existing team of 20 individuals, currently designated as the Business Management Group.

Business is an area in which the university says it performs very well. It was rated joint fifth out of 100 universities in the UK for Business and Management in the 2006 National Student Satisfaction Survey.

A Guardian league table placed Business at Winchester second out of 39 new universities in 2005 and seventh out of 45 universities in 2006.

Currently, there are 300 students studying Business Management or business-related programmes at Winchester. With enhancements to the Business Management course portfolio, the number of business students at Winchester is to increase over the next five to 10 years and it is expected that a suite of Business Management programmes at Masters level will attract students from overseas.

The Winchester Business School, to be located on the main Sparkford Road campus, behind the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, will work with businesses, particularly in Winchester and north Hampshire. Sponsorship is being sought, both for programme development and for student bursaries and scholarships.

Mary Rose Jones, from the Bulldog Trust, said: "We think this is an excellent opportunity for the university to build on its business connections and we're excited to be involved.

"We look forward to working with the university over the coming years and we think this is an extremely worthwhile project."

The University of Winchester has more than 5,500 students on courses from foundation and undergraduate degrees to Masters-level courses and PhD research. Programmes span humanities and arts, social sciences and teacher education, as well as business.

Details of current business programmes and business start-up schemes may be found at www.winchester.ac.uk.