Blackpool businessman gets networking award

Established for more than 30 years, BNI has over 200,000 members in over 70 countries.

It works by organising weekly networking meetings for groups of businesses.

Groups, known as chapters, use their combined network of contacts to find business opportunities and referrals for one another, using proven processes and systems to ensure the maximum amount of business is generated.

The organisation’s annual conference brought together about 500 directors from across the UK and Ireland at the Hilton in Gateshead on June 9 and 10, with an awards gala on Saturday evening.

BNI Lancashire East also picked up an award for growth with respect to the expansion of the three chapters in Accrington, Burnley and Blackburn.

BNI executive director Mike Holman, who heads 27 BNI chapters in Lancashire, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, said: “It was fantastic to see our Lancashire chapters represented so well at the national awards.

“During the conference it was announced that BNI UK and Ireland created over £517m worth of business in the last 12 months. I am very proud of Lancashire’s significant contribution to this – BNI in Lancashire was shown recently to have boosted the local economy by around £130m in the last six years alone.

“I personally am very proud to have been part of BNI’s journey in Lancashire.

“It’s very exciting that, nationally, the organisation is now talking in billions rather than millions, with a vision for the country to create £1.5bn by April 2021.”