Hotspots event drives in to north of county

Around 70 business leaders travelled the new Bay Gateway for the latest Lancashire Hotspots event at Heysham Golf Club.

The event, which links to a feature on the district of Lancaster which will appear in the January-February issue of Lancashire Business View, was presented by the magazine in association with Harrison Drury, Fat Media and HSBC.

Delegates included businesses from across the county as well as representatives from three universities – Lancaster, Cumbria and UCLan – the Federation of Small Businesses, Marketing Lancashire, the county council and the Chamber North Lancashire.

Susan Parsonage, the recently installed chief executive of Lancaster City Council, opened the event.

She said: “There are lots of new and established businesses alongside some really successful individuals in Lancaster: the foundations for growth are here. There are many opportunities and great potential.”

A Question Time-style panel, which was chaired by Richard Slater, publisher of Lancashire Business View, featured Colin Mclaughlin technology transfer manager at Lancaster University; Mark Ayrton, managing director at Pinington; Phil Simpson, director of C2 which owns Lancaster Brewery; Adrian Cresswell managing director of AM Support Services; and Brett Cooper who leads Harrison Drury’s Lancaster team.

Panellists said:

Colin McLaughlin

“I’ve always found Lancaster to be an enterprising community, a county of hidden gems. Our challenge has always been to try and get small organisations in front of students to encourage them with local opportunities as well as pushing local companies.”

 

Mark Ayrton

“If you look at the city and its surrounding area we have got the Lake District on our doorstep, the west coast mainline: we couldn’t be in a better location.”

 

Phil Simpson

“All the restaurants, bars, hotels, shops in town hang off the university. Our customer base is predominantly from the undergraduates and their families. The only worry with this is that we are continuously at threat of becoming a 30 week a year city.”

 

 

Adrian Cresswell

“We are a central location and the link road that has just been opened has made activity go through the roof because the time and ease to get here now is just unbelievable.”

 

Brett Cooper

“The potential for growth thanks to the opening of the Bay Gateway is massive. There are many great businesses and it’s about utilising them and providing them with the right professional services.”

  A full report, plus an extended feature on the district of Lancaster, will feature in the January-February issue of Lancashire Business View. Subscribe here