BUSINESSES in Hampshire are beginning to cotton on to the fact that where there's art there's money!

The Nuffield theatre in Southampton and city-based luxury car dealer Course and Beacham have announced a new sponsorship partnership.

Course and Beacham will sponsor the first Nuffield Theatre Company production of the season, Hamlet, to be directed by Nuffield's artistic director, Patrick Sandford.

Royal Shakespeare actor Stephen Noonan is cast in the title role.

Having lent a jeep for an onstage appearance in last season's production of When We Are Rich, which saw an increased interest in their top of the range vehicles, bosses at Course and Beacham were excited to develop their relationship with The Nuffield, Southampton by lending support to their artistic output through sponsoring this high quality production of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy.

Patrick Sandford's Shakespeare productions are renowned for their absolute clarity. Gimmick free but always emotionally compelling, the story is told fast while the acting is always vibrant and completely understandable.

"Our association with The Nuffield makes perfect business sense," said Course and Beacham marketing manager Neil Hawke.

"As we share a similar target market, we want to make The Nuffield's audience our audience. The Nuffield's productions are renowned for high quality performances.

Course and Beacham have been a premier dealer in the south for Chrysler and Jeep for more than 12 years.

Neil added: "We want to use the sponsorship association to extend our relationship with the local community and benefit from the feel-good factor that supporting the arts brings.

"We are offering a number of tickets to local schools and community groups to offer them an introduction to the theatre.

"Staff members have also been very keen to take up the offer of tickets to the show, so we have also befited from a boost in morale."

Adam Neale, marketing and development officer at The Nuffield, said: "Sponsorship of the arts is the perfect way for companies to maximise their PR visibility and fulfil the all important corporate social responsibility requirements which leads to a positive image enhancement throughout the local community."

Hamlet runs from 16 October - 15 November. Tickets are on sale from The Nuffield's Box Office: 023 8067 1771.