Peer networking initiative launched

A new peer networking initiative which will support businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire has been unveiled at a regional networking event.

Coventry and Warwickshire Champions, which is part of the CW Growth Hub Group, held its first bimonthly meeting of the year at Warwick Trident College, which is part of Warwickshire College Group.

More than 140 delegates attended the breakfast meeting and heard from a programme of speakers, including Craig Humphrey, CEO of the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, who introduced the new initiative being launched under Scale Up CW.

Scale Up CW aims to boost businesses seeking to grow through a range of peer learning opportunities, including facilitated networking events, roundtable discussions to address business challenges and opportunities, expert-led workshops on topics such as tax, and also events with motivational and industry-leading speakers.

Craig said: “Scaleups contribute £1.3 trillion to the UK economy every year. We want Coventry and Warwickshire to be the ideal location to start and scale a business. Scale Up CW will seek to support people across the region to take their business to the next level and continue their growth trajectory.

“Coventry and Warwickshire Champions attracts many of the most innovative businesses in the area and it marked the perfect opportunity to reveal the initiative.”

Daniel Szor, founder of Cotswold Distillery, was the first speaker and discussed his journey from a 26-year career with a major hedge fund in New York to setting up the distillery in 2014 near Shipston-on-Stour. Cotswold Distillery now exports to more than 40 countries, is England’s largest whisky producer and saw Berry Bros & Rudd acquire a minority stake last year.

Peter Husband, interim CEO and Principal at WCG, spoke at the event about the role the college group has in providing a pipeline of skilled talent to support businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire. He also highlighted how the college delivers more than 2,000 apprenticeships, across over 60 occupations, and how Warwick Trident College is at the heart of its engineering apprenticeship delivery.

The event closed with a presentation from Oliver Boakes, Chief Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, to discuss the company’s Reimagine strategy and how sustainability sits at its core. Oliver discussed how the company is reimagining its product portfolio and opening the Future Lab, a £250 million state-of-the-art electric vehicle test facility at the engineering centre in Whitley, Coventry.

Nic Erskine, Executive Director of CW Champions, said: “This was another fantastic Champions event. The room was full and it was a great opportunity for businesses from across the region to catch-up for the first time this year. As always, we were pleased to be able to put on a wide array of speakers, touching a range of key sectors in our regional economy, including engineering, education and tourism. This marked a great start to a big year for Champions, as we continue to expand our proposition as part of CW Growth Hub Group.”

For more information on joining Coventry & Warwickshire Champions, please email nic.erskine@cwgrowthhub.co.uk

Find out what other support is available to your business by calling Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub on 0300 060 3747 or visiting https://www.cwgrowthhub.co.uk