Chamber of Commerce Asks Whether Brighton & Hove Can Hold Onto Growing Businesses

Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce is to stage its next ‘Big Debate’ on October 25, 2011, on the motion ‘This House believes that Brighton holds back, rather than champions, business expansion'. The debate tackles the thorny question of expanding businesses that can have difficulty finding suitable premises and maybe held back or may have to leave the city to succeed.

Brighton & Hove is a city of entrepreneurs. More than 1,000 businesses register for VAT each year and the city has many more very small businesses than the national average. But there is evidence that our businesses do not grow as well as they should: that expansion is more difficult in Brighton & Hove than elsewhere. The city may have more small businesses than average but it has far fewer businesses above 100 employees and only 6 businesses employing more than 1,000 people.

Chamber president, Julia Chanteray, said: “Brighton & Hove may be good for start-ups but is it so good for business expansion? Some or our members feel that if a business wants to grow large, it will have to leave, as there’s nowhere to go within the city. And when already-large companies look at moving into the city, it is extremely challenging, if not impossible, to find them suitable premises.”

She continues: “Brighton & Hove is geographically constrained: it sits in a semi-circle bounded by the sea and the National Park, making property development difficult. But can we  afford to let this stand in the way of our growing businesses? And if not, how can we manage things, and have they been managed well up to now? Or has the city created a glass ceiling?”

The debate is being staged in the light of this week’s city council announcement of a 20 year plan - a blueprint which identifies the need to create 6,000 more jobs in the next ten years  - and, at the same time, the news that one of the city’s ‘hero’ businesses, Infinity Foods, is having trouble finding new premises to expand into.

Speaking for the motion that Brighton holds back business expansion will be:
•    Chris Oakley, Executive Chairman of estate agent Oakley Commercial
•    Dom Ferrari of Infinity Foods, whose job it is to find new premises for the food cooperative’s wholesale operation, presently in Portslade

Speaking against the motion will be:
•    Martin Randall, head of planning and public protection for Brighton & Hove City Council
•    Paul Zara, Brighton-based director of the world-renowned designers and architects Conran & Partners, whose Brighton office has just received planning approval for the much-publicised redevelopment of the Astoria  Cinema in Gloucester Place, Brighton, aiming to create ‘Brighton’s greenest-ever office building’.

A number of eminent Brighton business leaders will also be speaking from the floor of the debate, which will take the traditional Oxford Union debating format. The chair of the debate will be Rob Shepherd, of Brighton PR business Press Dispensary.

The debate takes place at City College, Pelham, Street, Brighton, on October 25th 2011, 6:00-8:30 pm. Entry is free but tickets must be booked on the Chamber website. Early booking is recommended as the event is expected to be full.


The result of the debate, and any points raised, will then go forward to help shape policy on development and business growth in Brighton & Hove.

Notes for editors

About Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce
Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce supports many businesses of all sizes and sectors across the city with services ranging from its popular twice-monthly breakfasts and monthly evening events to skills training and business support. It is also the voice of business in Brighton & Hove, representing its members on all the key local partnerships and initiatives, sitting on a variety of bodies and forums, and feeding local business issues into the City’s strategy developments.

About The Big Debate
The Big Debate is a regular feature of the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce calendar, taking place four times a year and seeking to tackle major business and policy issues within the city. The debates sit alongside the Chamber’s annual State of the City event, which takes place each summer and rounds up the present activities and future prospects for the city of Brighton & Hove.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Sarah Springford, director
Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce
Tel: 01273 719097
Email: director@businessinbrighton.org.uk



Copy by Rob Shepherd, The Press Dispensary

Header image by Richard Excell, Excell Design

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