A LEADING Weymouth company will create hundreds of jobs after being awarded millions of pounds of funding.

Universal Engineering on the Granby Industrial Estate is expected to gain £4-5million of government funding that is being dished out to stimulate economic growth.

The jobs boost comes as a result of the firm qualifying as one of 13 companies in the South West sharing £96 million.

Mike Hayle, chief executive, is looking to expand Universal by adding a new building and hiring more than 200 new employees once the money starts to come through next year.

“It’s great that we’ve been selected,” he said.

“It indicates that hopefully there will be money available and it’s an endorsement by the Government that we are doing the right things.”

The company was among 492 nationwide which entered a bid to secure funds from the Department For Business Innovation and Skill’s Regional Growth Fund with 119 successful so far.

Each winner will add five times the amount of public money provided so more than £20 million will ultimately be invested in Universal.

The company’s Project Sabre bid to the Government outlined plans to open a new facility in Weymouth and generate a new apprenticeship scheme alongside Weymouth College.

The program will create a research, design and development team to develop new products.

Universal is well known for its work in the defence industry but is looking to expand its work in the sub sea oil and gas and aerospace sectors. The company is also looking to develop wave and tidal renewable energy technology.

Mr Hayle said he was hoping to provide graduate opportunities to retain trained and educated youngsters in the borough.

He said: “One of the challenges in Weymouth is creating a career path for qualified engineers as there’s not that much in terms of graduate employment.

“We want to work with local schools and colleges to encourage people here to go off to college as they could go into engineering here.”

Mr Hayle said while he was delighted he is also remaining cautious and focused as the funding is still subject to due diligence.

He is remaining tight-lipped on the total gained as the figure could still be reduced.

Universal has already spent £1million adding a fifth site in the borough in the last nine months.

It employed 100 staff in the new Electrical division with work continuing for Agusta Westland in Yeovil.

Mr Hayle described the new division as ‘state-of-the-art’ and Steve Whittall, senior electrical manager, said it was ‘a dream come true’.

The government’s Regional Growth Fund is investing £1.4 billion in total nationwide.

So far 119 companies have been earmarked for £950 million in a bid to directly create an estimated 37,000 jobs.

Mark Blunden, marketing manager, said he was pleased the company will help towards the target for new jobs which was set by Weymouth and Portland’s Chamber of Commerce.

• UNIVERSAL Engineering is well known for its work in the defence sector and the company hit the headlines across the world when Prince Andrew visited the company a year ago.

The Duke of York criticised MoD bosses as ‘completely hopeless’ and as ‘sitting on their fat backsides’ when he visited as part of his previous role as an ambassador for UK Trade and Industry.

The prince was visiting to look at Universal’s Ranger military vehicles and after the Dorset Echo exclusively broke the story it was splashed across the media.

One year on the company has been making further advancements to the vehicle as it continues to generate interest with prospective customers at trade shows.

Chief Executive Mike Hayle said: “We’ve carried on developing the Ranger and there’s still nothing better out there.”