Scottish culture secretary Fiona Hyslop has announced the extension of a funding scheme designed to help encourage business sponsorship of the country's arts sector.

A further £150,000 has been allocated to the New Arts Sponsorship Grants initiative, which takes the total Scottish Government investment for this financial year to £450,000.

The programme is administered by Arts and Business Scotland and provides £1 of funding for each £1 in sponsorship obtained by arts organisations. It has been running since 2006.

Hyslop said: "The scheme has attracted a remarkable £300,000 of additional investment from 45 new businesses across Scotland and beyond since the start of this financial year alone.

"This exceptional demand is why I am allocating additional funds to extend the scheme in our Year of Creative Scotland and attract even more business support for arts organisations in Scotland."

Click here for more information about the extension of the New Arts Sponsorship Grants scheme.