A £1.5million plan will include the creation of 2000 new businesses in Glasgow.

City council leader Gordon Matheson will lay out his ­vision when he addresses the annual State of the City Economy conference today.

And he will outline a scheme to help more young entrepreneurs set up in business for themselves.

He said the council plans to spend £1.5m on measures aimed at supporting the city's economy.

Council chiefs say while significant progress has been made in boosting business, more needs to be done, especially to support and sustain new and existing firms.

Mr Matheson said: "We will do this in a number of ways, the first being the establishment of the Glasgow Enterprise Board.

"We will work with the business community, ­academia and the financial sector to get the board running with the simple aim of expanding Glasgow's business base.

"The board will provide ­independent thinking to ­encourage entrepreneurship and enterprise in our metropolitan economy and will ­deliver on our commitment to increase the number of businesses."

There are 18,000 businesses in Glasgow but during the next four years the city council wants to increase that number by 2000.

Mr Matheson said achieving that would be his priority and would be down to the Glasgow Enterprise Board to deliver.

He also announced the council will do more to support young businesses in their early years by extending its commitment to eSpark - an initiative where start-up businesses are nurtured in an intensive five month programme.

Espark was launched in January, last year, by businessman Jim Duffy, with support from City Refrigeration boss Lord Haughey and Sports Division tycoon Sir Tom Hunter.

Mr Matheson said: "To improve the survival rates, we will continue our work with eSpark to provide a graduation space for businesses as they develop in their second, third and fourth years.

"Lord Haughey has been a champion for our city's new entrepreneurs through eSpark.

"He has generously agreed to provide an additional 6000sq ft of office space to support this graduation space.

"Glasgow City Council will match this by providing tailored business support for entrepreneurs who graduate from the programme"

Mr Matheson also announced more support for young businesses through the creation of a series of Business Graduation Centres to support start-ups in their early years through measures such as rent-free accommodation, monthly business health checks and access to a dedicated team of mentors with specialist knowledge.

He highlighted the number of businesses which close due to the circumstances of the owners, for example if they retire or are unable to sell the firm as a going concern.

The audience was told this is important as there are currently five times as many firms for sale than there were a decade ago and only 30% of start-up firms survive compared to 95% when existing firms transfer to a new owner.

Mr Matheson said: "We can't afford to lose these businesses.

"My administration will establish the Glasgow Business Transfer Loan Fund which will provide a £1m loan fund to support entrepreneurs to purchase established going concerns and safeguard the future of jobs and services in our communities."

One of Labour's manifesto pledges for the council elections was the creation of Co-operative Glasgow as a means of developing a bigger business base through more social enterprises and co-operatives.

Mr Matheson said: "As a co-operative council, we are committed to the principles and values of social enterprise and we will provide practical support in the shape of the Co-operative Glasgow Business Development Fund.

"This will be open to social entrepreneurs who wish to grow their businesses."

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stuart Patrick said: "We very much welcome the council's initiative to grow the city's business base.

"Glasgow has for some time had fewer small and ­micro businesses for its size than some other UK cities.

"A focused initiative to ­understand why and ensure that Glasgow has an effective, joined-up response to encourage new starts and help them survive is timely, especially now we are seeing more positive signs of economic recovery."

vivienne.nicoll@ eveningtimes.co.uk