Warwickshire in the spotlight at London Olympia

Members of Warwickshire County Council's Invest in Warwickshire team are busy following up leads from connections made during their visit to The Business Show at London Olympia.

Last month the Invest in Warwickshire team seized the chance to promote the county as a business base at The Business Show 2015 - the UK’s largest exhibition for anyone looking to start-up or expand their existing business.

Warwickshire has got much to offer those businesses so the Invest in Warwickshire team spent two days in the capital getting that message across to more than 25,000 visitors to the exhibition.

With over 350 exhibitors at the show, there were plenty of opportunities for businesses to network and make new contacts, picking up hints and tips from the many seminars, keynote speeches and master-classes. There were also numerous opportunities for companies to participate in “speed-networking” sessions, maximising the opportunities to hear from new people and make strong contacts.

With thousands of business people seeking the latest help and advice, it was a not-to-be-missed chance to showcase the region as a place for businesses to settle. And Invest in Warwickshire were one of only a small number of teams at the show selling opportunities associated with their specific geographic area.

Many companies visited the Warwickshire stand to learn more about what the county could offer and the team is now in dialogue with a variety of them, including companies looking to invest from overseas, retail manufacturers and start-ups looking for an alternative to locating in London.

Warwickshire County Council's Inward Investment Manager Sackie Somal said: “It is really important for the team to have a presence at shows such as this. Many of the individuals who attend the show are just at the point of making a decision about where to locate – so it is crucial to be able to demonstrate to them why Warwickshire could be the perfect location for them.” 

The show also had a key emphasis on how to expand a business's world-wide presence with the “Going Global” element of the event dedicated to exporting overseas. UK Trade & Investment have a prominent role in supporting UK businesses with their global ambitions and were there throughout the show to give help and advice to companies attending on exporting and breaking into overseas markets.

The ever-expanding export market offers huge opportunities to businesses in 2016. And the message from Sackie's team to the thousands of visitors at The Business Show was clear: There is no better location from which to establish and grow your business than Warwickshire.