Rugby businesses served up great advice with breakfast

"Growing your business in 2016/17" was the theme of a highly successful business breakfast held by Warwickshire County Council's Invest in Warwickshire team in Rugby.

The Invest in Warwickshire team welcomed over 130 delegates to the event, co-hosted with our partners from Rugby Borough Council and Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub, at the Benn Hall in Rugby.

A broad spectrum of advice and information from a range of experts was put before delegates.

Mark Pawsey MP and Clive Hickman, chief executive of the Rugby-based Manufacturing Technology Centre, gave an insight into the cutting-edge research and development activity taking place locally.

A panel of leading business representatives then fielded questions around business growth, sharing their own experiences. A key objective of the morning was to showcase the wide range of business support services available to local companies and Rich Warren, account manager for the Growth Hub, presented an overview of support available to companies.

Additionally, many business support agencies were on hand to network and talk to the businesses who attended. They included the University of Warwick, UKTI-Export, Business Connectors, CWRT, Warwick Manufacturing Group, the MTC and the Intellectual Property Office while local membership organisations the FSB and Chamber of Commerce were also available to give out advice and guidance.

Representatives from both the county and district councils were present to let companies know about the support services they provide to business, including the Apprenticeship Hub, Skills for Employment and Invest in Warwickshire commercial property search service.

The event closed with a networking session, providing businesses with an opportunity to meet and get to know other local firms.