Over 500 attendees and 80 exhibitors made Steam their destination of choice yesterday to attend the second Business Show Swindon organised by GWE Business West and sponsored by Team South West, Relays, County Marquees and Manor Printing.

The show featured a keynote speech from James Averdieck, founder of Gü. A packed audience heard a truly inspiring speech from a very pragmatic and interesting entrepreneur.

There was a wide range of exhibitors from a variety of sectors including Hill's Waste Solutions, Soaring Worldwide, Nexus Business Centre and Campanile Hotels.

Without doubt the speed networking sessions were a resounding success as they were fully sold out before the event and enabled people to network in a fun, fast paced environment.

The exclusive espresso bar for members of the GWE Business West’s LinkedIn group once again proved a popular way of bringing members together. These sessions allowed members to network face-to-face and also encouraged others to join the LinkedIn group, with membership now reaching 3,700!

Robin Johnson, Director, Business Transformers Ltd, who attended both the LinkedIn Espresso Bar and the speed networking said: “The combination of speed networking sessions and the LinkedIn espresso bar meant this was an excellent exhibition for making connections.”

Vox PR provided live tweets on the day, which created a great atmosphere at the event. Sue Pycroft, Director, Vox PR said: “The Swindon Business Show had a real buzz to it once again, and proved that despite the current tough trading conditions there are plenty of energetic, creative businesses out there offering customers what they want to buy at realistic prices. Together with the Influence conference in the morning, the show provided an excellent platform for businesses in Swindon and beyond to get to know each other and promote themselves. We left with a wealth of business intelligence, some new friendships and several excellent new leads and are already looking forward to the next one.”

Ian Larrard, Director of the Initiative in Swindon and Wiltshire, GWE Business West said: “A big thank you to all those who attended and exhibited. From the feedback we have received so far the show has been a tremendous success for the local business community by providing an arena to network and meet new business contacts. We look forward to building on the success of the past two years to create an even more exciting show next year.”

The next Business Show will take place in Bristol on 26 September at UWE Exhibition and Conference Centre. If you would like to be one of the first to receive details email events@businesswest.co.uk