A radical shake-up of the way business support is offered in Bradford has been unveiled.

Regional development agency Yorkshire Forward has announced Yorkshire and Humber Information, Diagnostic and Brokerage (Y&H IDB) as having won the contract to operate Business Link services around the region.

The announcement follows a major review by Yorkshire Forward of publicly funded business support aimed at ensuring customer focus and value for money.

Chairman Terry Hodgkinson called the new service "the beginning of a new era in business support in Yorkshire" and said it should mean efficiency savings worth £2.7 million, which would be ploughed back into front-line services. The new service will bring all four current business support bodies under one umbrella.

Simon Hill, executive director of business at Yorkshire Forward, said: "Businesses in Bradford will see a customer-focused service which is consistent across the region but delivered locally, on their doorstep, by people with an understanding of the Bradford business community. We are going to continue to run alongside the LEGI-funded schemes for start-ups. By rationalising the current structure from four delivery bodies into one, we will be able to reduce duplication and redirect around £2.7 million per year into actual front-line services for our region's businesses.

"This will mean more advisers supporting more businesses, who are better equipped to understand the business situation in our local areas. We predict there will be a 45 per cent increase in on-the-ground advisers."

Y&H IDB is a joint venture between training and employment organisation Reed in Partnership and business support service Exemplas Holding. The consortium was the overwhelming favourite of Yorkshire Forward. Part of the offering will include a new telephone and online access point for support.

Chris Melvin, managing director of Reed in Partnership, said: "Our initial aim is to work in conjunction with the current providers to ensure a smooth continuation of the service, whilst also building our team to deliver the next generation of business support from April, 2008."