Business Live a Huge Success

News release

17th October 2013

Anyone with a new and innovative idea can turn it into a reality, visitors to the first ever Business Live event have been told.

Delegates at the show were given an inspiring talk by Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Andy Harsley, who shared tips on how to access funding and support, develop a new product and search for patents.

Andy had previously wowed Dragons on the hit BBC show before walking away with £150,000 of funding for his product, the Rapstrap.

The show, organised by the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Lincolnshire Media Events, also featured talks from experts on investment, boosting skills in the workplace and tourism. It was held yesterday (16th October) at the Lincolnshire Showground to demonstrate what the area’s top industries have to offer.

Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the LEP, opened the event. “People of Greater Lincolnshire are very enterprising and this event has demonstrated that,” said Ursula, who outlined some of the success stories in the area before directing delegates’ attention to the changes the LEP will see in the coming years.

“We have great businesses here already. Our role is to help you achieve what you’d like to achieve. We need to make sure that our Growth Plan, which every LEP is creating, stands out from the others, building on everything that is good about Lincolnshire. We’d like to hear from you with your thoughts."

The format of the show was different to other business events. It was split into seven different zones – property, finance, energy, digital, skills, tourism, and a breakout zone for networking – to ensure each industry had a dedicated area. Each zone then featured a speaker, with the talks taking place at staggered intervals to allow delegates to hear from as many sectors as possible and ask questions.

Steve Clarke from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) spoke about inward investment to the UK in the property section, while Bryn Davies from onlincolnshire, Lincolnshire County Council’s broadband project, explained how the ongoing project is helping to change lives by bringing superfast broadband to the county. Details on the Lincoln Castle Revealed project were also given.

Clare Hughes and Susannah Lewis from the county council talked about support available for the workforce and funding opportunities respectively, while Professor Ron Bickerton from the University of Lincoln spoke about the potential for business in the energy sector.

Plans are already under way for next year’s event. Richard Duxbury, Managing Director at the Lincolnshire Echo, said: “We had great feedback from the exhibitors and the speakers gave some fantastic advice on the latest funding opportunities and exciting activities happening in the county.

“The motivation for the event was to help keep businesses informed about the things that are going to affect the local economy, and in line with the developments that are coming to Lincolnshire in the coming years the 2014 event will be even bigger and even better.”

Ends

Notes to Editors:

About the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership

• The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership is a private and public sector partnership led by the private sector which aims to improve conditions for infrastructure and doing business in the Greater Lincolnshire area.
• One of the first LEPs to be established in the UK, the Greater Lincolnshire LEP covers a large geographical area with a population of over one million and a diverse range of industries, from ports and logistics to farming, tourism and engineering.
• It includes North and North-East Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire and is controlled by a LEP board made up of leading figures in the public and private sector.

Cerri Delaney
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
07985 143990
cerri@shootingstar-pr.co.uk
www.shootingstar-pr.co.uk
t: @CerriDelaney

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