Hot 100 puts SMEs in the spotlight

The county’s 100 most profitable SMEs took centre stage at the launch of the latest edition of Lancashire Business View.

The magazine’s annual Hot 100 list is eagerly awaited and the gathering of more than 100 people in Burnley heard from Dean Rodgers of accountancy firm PM+M, who put together the list.

Looking ahead to the next 12 months, he told the audience at the Burnley College University Courses building: “The future of Lancashire looks bright. There is enormous appetite and business potential.

“You can see this by the number of commercial units that are popping up all over the county.”

 The event heard from Richard Craddock of A&G Precision, Vicki Last from Carvanson and Nadeem Memon of Panaz – whose companies all feature in this year’s list, which can be found in the pages of issue 123 of Lancashire Business View

Linda Dean from Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology and Richard Robinson of Napthens also reflected on the Hot 100 and the important role SMEs play in the county’s economy.

Burnley features in the magazine’s latest Lancashire Hotspot feature and Lukman Patel, chief executive of Burnley Council; Kate Wallace, interim principal of Burnley College, Rebecca Miller, associate partner of Farleys, and Jon Cant, head of business development at Root Fifty Two, spoke on a panel about the importance of keeping talent in the borough.

Laurence O’Connor, from Financial Affairs, also read a poem to delegates about his top 100 things he loves about being in Burnley.

Richard Lee from Seriun talked to the audience about using AI, especially Co-pilot, to make businesses more efficient.

And Ian Treasure from Workwell told the audience about the free confidential service, designed to support employers to help people in the workforce with health conditions or disabilities stay and thrive in work.

He also encouraged businesses to use their services.

Some of the guests later took part in a tour of the Burnley College campus.

The event was sponsored by burnley.co.uk, Financial Affairs, WorkWell Lancashire and powered by Seriun.

To find out more information about getting involved with the Lancashire Business View, contact Joanne Hindley at [email protected] or 07442949697.