‘Visitor City’ in spotlight at Annual Business Breakfast

The city is gearing up for its tenth anniversary Wolverhampton Business Breakfast - its annual spotlight on opportunities for businesses and investors.

The breakfast will take place on Thursday, September 28 (8.30am – 11am) and is sponsored by The Halls Wolverhampton.

The event, which will be held at the newly-opened The Halls following its £48m transformation, will be hosted by Midlands Business Insider - the biggest news and information provider in the region, and will include a respected line-up of speakers.

Attendees will get to hear how Wolverhampton’s reputation as a visitor destination is being transformed following significant investment in the city’s cultural, retail, leisure and events offer; how this is boosting the city’s economy, driving further regeneration and what opportunities this is creating for businesses operating in the visitor economy, food and beverage and hospitality sectors.

Among the speakers are Steve Homer, CEO at AEG Presents - the new operators of The Halls Wolverhampton; Maggie Grogan, MD at Muse; Katie Trout, Director of Policy and Partnerships at West Midlands Growth Company; Simon Cooke, Director at Apam - the new owners of the Mander Centre; and Tim Johnson, Chief Executive at City of Wolverhampton Council, with more speakers set to be announced soon.

The breakfast is the showpiece event of the city’s annual Business Week which will run from Monday 25 to Friday 29 September and will include a range of events hosted by the council and city partners across the week.

These include ‘Unleashing the Power of AI’ at Ignite on Monday 25 September, which is an interactive session where businesses can discover the extraordinary potential of artificial intelligence; a Green Marketing Workshop for SMEs at the National Brownfield Institute on Wednesday 27 September where businesses can gain valuable insights into the latest trends in sustainable marketing; and a Jobs Fair for young people and recruiting employers at The Youth Employment Hub on Wednesday 27 September to support local people into work. More events are set to be announced in the coming weeks.

Businesses interested in attending the breakfast and other events taking place during Business Week can find out more at  www.investwolverhampton.com/businessweek

City of Wolverhampton Council Acting Leader and Cabinet Member for Inclusive City Economy, Councillor Stephen Simkins, said: "The council is proud to co-ordinate the city’s tenth annual business week programme, which is a first-class example of partnership working to support the city's local economy and demonstrates our commitment to supporting business growth.

“Recent investment in city centre projects, including £48million in The Halls and more than £15million in the west of the city centre to create event spaces, are examples of the major transformation that is improving Wolverhampton as a visitor destination – and there’s more to come.

“Our pro-business attitude continues to attract new investment and secure business expansion, which together are helping to generate thousands of jobs and achieve the best for our residents and businesses.”