Five promising new companies are joining the University of Bath in Swindon's Innovation Centre to take advantage of the facilities and support it offers to science and technology-based companies.

The companies were all set up recently and are judged to have the potential to grow rapidly.

They are hoping for the same success as three firms - SiConnect, Air Semiconductor and Ubiquisys - that were helped by the Innovation Centre recently to raise £5m in venture capital and move to new and bigger offices.

The Innovation Centre provides entrepreneurs and new start-ups with business mentoring, guidance, routes to funding and access to industry specialists, as well as affordable office space.

The centre is part of the SETsquared Partnership, the enterprise collaboration of the Universities of Bath, Bath in Swindon, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey.

"We will be providing these young businesses with an environment where they can grow rapidly," said Phil Merrick, centre manager.

"As well as superb serviced office space, they have valuable access to business expertise and the university's research resources, which can make all the difference to a company's success.

In turn they bring enormous potential to the university and Swindon as a whole."

The new companies are:

Alexander Ballard: specialising in strategies for environmental sustainability www.alexanderballard.co.uk Moran Design Services: semiconductor design agency.

Pinpoint Composition: providing quality pre-press solutions www.pinpointcomposition.com.

Mercury Square: providing a secure, online business-to-business marketplace www.mercurysquare.com.

Quadriga Parking: providing a range of innovative and high quality car parking systems www.quadrigaparking.com.

The Innovation Centre currently has 15 commercial ventures pursuing ambitious development plans.