Over £2m in funding has been released for small firms that work in the software sector in the north-east of England.

Regional development agency One North East will provide £2.1m in funding to the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) in Sunderland, which aims to boost the creation and growth of high-tech small businesses.

The investment will be used to deliver support to entrepreneurs in the form of mentoring, finance and the use of facilities and services.

"We recognise that the software sector is a competitive market and we need effective marketing and business support for enterprise to reflect this," said Paul McEldon, BIC chief executive.