The site of a new £5.5 million legal training college in Manchester has been announced, a further affirmation of the region's buoyant professional services sector.

The College of Law will open its new centre on New York Street in September, tapping into the ever increasing demand in the northwest from prospective students and from law firms themselves.

It will feature state-of-the-art learning resources including fully specified PC suites and a first-class legal library.

Covering over 22,000 square feet, the Manchester centre has already been warmly welcomed by the region's leading commercial firms, including Addleshaw Goddard, Beachcroft, Berrymans Lace Mawer, Brabners Chaffe Street , Cobbetts, DLA Piper, Eversheds, Halliwells, Hammonds, Hill Dickinson, Mace & Jones, Pannone, Pinsent Masons and Weightmans.

It is the second major investment in the northwest by The College of Law, which recently announced plans for a further £2 million injection into its centre in Chester.

Earlier this year, college chief executive Nigel Savage said "The northwest is the UK's California - it is worth £106 billion, a tenth of the UK economy and larger than several European countries."