West Midland firms could receive up to £20,000-worth of management consultancy from a new competition.

Business leaders John Ling, Ruth Johnstone and James Leavesley have joined Mustard.uk.com to develop Galvanising Growth - a competition to identify and support the next generation of high-growth firms.

Up to 100 businesses are expected to take part, with participants receiving feedback and, for the final five, a £20,000 support package will be available to help each company achieve high returns and expansion over the next three to five years.

"There are lots of companies out there that are at a stage where they want to accelerate growth, but perhaps do not hold the necessary knowledge or management structure to turn a good business into a high growth enterprise capable of making it into the Times Fast Track 100 for example," said James Leavesley, director of NXO Strategic Marketing.

"With this in mind, we undertook considerable research and, after talking to a cross section of public and private sector organisations, came up with the concept of Galvanising Growth."

Interested businesses are being urged to register at galvanisinggrowth.co.uk.

Finalists will be asked to present their business case in a one-to-one scenario with the judges, where the five winning enterprises will be announced.

John Ling, former regional director at Cable and Wireless and driving force behind the project, said: "When people think about high-growth they immediately refer to technology-based companies, but this is no longer the case.

"The West Midlands is home to a new breed of entrepreneur and we are looking to capture companies from all sectors - this could include manufacturing, service, retail, medical technologies, professional services and travel."

Closing date for entries is October 31.