Business leaders in North Wales will be given the low-down on the economy by a senior figure from the Bank of England.
Neil Ashbridge, the Bank’s Agent in Wales, will be delivering a private, off-the-record briefing to the influential Wrexham Business Professionals Group on Friday, November 18.
The meeting at the town’s Ramada Plaza will be attended by Group members and their clients.
It has been organised on the Group’s behalf by Solicitors GHP Legal in conjunction with Chartered Accountants Coxeys.
Peter Butler, a Managing Partner of GHP Legal, is delighted that Mr Ashbridge has agreed to attend the meeting.
Mr Butler said: “I am sure we will gain a fascinating and helpful insight into how the economy is faring and the prospects for the future.
“Hopefully, there will also be an opportunity for our members and clients to venture an opinion and for our thoughts to be taken into consideration by the Bank of England.”
The Bank’s 12 Agencies liaise closely with key business groups such as the Chambers of Commerce and CBI and, in this case, Wrexham Business Professionals.
Agents analyse the confidential information contacts provide to them and report their assessment to the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee each month to help build a picture of overall business conditions.
Mr Ashbridge originally joined the Bank of England’s Liverpool branch in 1973, before transferring to Threadneedle Street in 1976 where he undertook a number of roles in the Bank’s exchange control, banking and international divisions.
In 1992, he returned to Liverpool as Assistant Agent, covering North and Mid-Wales and parts of the North West, before being appointed Deputy Agent for the North West in 2000. He was appointed the Agent in Wales in 2009.
He said: “The Bank’s network of Agencies across the UK and the information they gather each month, make a direct and valuable contribution to the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee.
“The task of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee would be far more difficult without the timely information provided by the Agencies.
“I am therefore pleased to have the opportunity to continue this process by meeting with the Wrexham Business Professionals Group.”
The meeting will also be addressed by Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths.
Wrexham Business Professionals recently launched a Keep it Local Campaign which is designed to encourage businesses to look locally for professional services.
Their aim is to persuade public and private sector organisations to look closer to home when awarding contracts and commissioning services.
Gill Atkinson, a Director of Coxeys, said: “We formed the group as a means of showcasing the professional expertise that is available in the town.
“We wanted to raise the profile of professional people in Wrexham to demonstrate that we could provide a service that was at least as good if not better than that available across the border and that it would be cheaper and more accessible too.
The campaign is being supported by Lesley Griffiths AM who said: “It’s really important that these services remain in Wrexham.
“We need to raise awareness of the skills available and that we have solicitors and accountants and other businesses who are perfectly able to carry out the work required by SMEs, small and medium size businesses, and by local residents.
“The Wrexham Business Professionals Group have raised major concerns about the procurement of work that could have been done in Wrexham and this is something I will raise with the relevant Minister.
“The Welsh Government need to look at how we can help companies tender for this work and I am sure we are doing this.
“It is great to see these people coming together. They are a large group and very influential and this campaign is something I would like to take forward.”
For more information about the meeting contact Nicola Mathews by emailing her at [email protected] or ringing 01978 355477.
