THE SECOND Malvern Hills Business Expo has been hailed a huge success and there are plans to make the event even bigger to ‘meet the increasing demand’.
After the phenomenal success of last year’s first ever expo which saw more than 30 business attend and attracted more than 250 visitors, organisers were left impressed by the similar amount of numbers which turned up at the Abbey Hotel last Thursday.
The unique event, which was opened by deputy Mayor of Malvern Coun Hannah Campbell, allows businesses in Malvern to network with each other and showcase their work to the community.
Sponsored by the Observer, the Expo was met with swift praise by exhibitors which has left director and organiser Gavin O’Mahoney ‘over the moon’.
He said: “The Expo was absolutely fantastic. The feedback we have had from exhibitors has been great and lots of business has been done.
“We had roughly the same amount of numbers as last year but the quality of visitors was very good.
“Exhibitors commented those that attended were there to talk and do business.
“This is a unique event, there’s no other event like this which showcases business specifically across the Malvern Hills.”
Some of the businesses which benefited from the Expo included Driving Miss Daisy, Oakland Group and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce which all praised the ‘much-needed’ event.
Alistair Cameron, owner and regional director for Worcestershire at Driving Miss Daisy, said: “Having an Expo is very important – it’s good for us as it is somewhere for us to come and meet people who are our neighbours and other local business whose services we may need.”
Paul Kearlsey, head of business development and marketing at Oakland Group, said the event enabled his business to attract new clients while Robyn Rooney, marketing manager at H&W Chamber of Commerce, said an Expo was ‘integral’ for companies in Malvern.
She said: “Businesses need to be able to come along to these kind of events to find out what is going on in Malvern, meeting new people and getting business deals done.”
As a former business owner herself, Coun Campbell said she was delighted to see many familiar faces returning to the Expo as well as new ones.
She said: “It’s fantastic to see such a diverse range of micro and small businesses flourishing in Malvern.
“When you own a small business it’s quite easy to forget what’s happening around you and these kind of events offer an opportunity to go out and meet new suppliers and customers.”
Plans for next year’s Malvern Hills Business Expo are already under way and Gavin said he was relishing making the event bigger and better.
“We are working out and looking into up-scaling the event for next year.
“Maybe we could do a Consumer Expo in addition to the Business Expo so we can meet the demand,” he added.
