New Website for 2010

Thank you for popping in to the Chamber website - we are working on developing a new and exciting website for all visitors and Chamber Members.

This will be launched in January 2010, with new features that will allow all our fully paid up Members to provide a range of products and services to each other and generate a local economy, for example Archival Record Management are offering fellow members 20% discount on their range of offerings, and D & J Roofing 10% on new roofs.

As January is also the period where many members renew their subscriptions we anticipate to be able offer some extra special incentives when the renewal package are sent out.

If you are a member and you wish to provide an offer to host on the the website - contact sccoffers@southwarkcommerce.com with the details and we will contact you in January to discuss how we can provide a platform to support your business.

We wish all our Members, Patrons, and supporters a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

B2B Southwark Business Conference

A highly successful B2B Business Conference was held on March 31st led by the Chamber and in partnership with Better Bankside, BBI and Peckham Town Centre Management. The event was attended by over 200 business people and represented the diversity that Southwark offers in business excellence. Workhops run by Supply London, SME Academy and Business Extra provided a focus on how SME's can combat the current economic climate and were all attended by hign numbers.

The feedback of the event indicates that this Conference being the second one held will be a regular fixture in Southwark's business calendar, and we are already planning to hold the event in March 2010.

Ths conference was the pinnacle of a two year LDA funded programme led by the Chamber to bring business networks together and agan proved that working partnership in Southwark is a cornersotne to success.

Business Meeting at Southwark Town Hall

The Business Meeting held on the 29th October at Southwark Town Hall with Harriet Harman, the Mayor of Southwark, Val Shawcross AM, and local Councillors and Chaired by Chris Wilson Exec Member of the Southwark Chamber proved to very well attended and a successful one, with over 50 attendees from a wide range of businessess asking and raising some serious questions as to how the current economic climate is affecting all businesses in all areas of their operation.

We list below the key points raised from the meeting

Top Priorities for Action:

1. Review access for financial advice locally e.g. CAB
2. No time to be cutting back on Council and health authorities, as they commission SMEs
3. Need medium-term business plan so that when businesses are sold the property is not made residential
4. Expanding childcare facilities.
5. Have to get information to women running their own businesses
6. Small business loan guarantee scheme, too much interest and being withheld by banks who are reducing loans/overdraft
7. High street banks aren’t lending. Government must lend directly.
8. Empower people to create their own employment – training and skills
9. Financial management skills
10. Start lending to small businesses regardless of age
11. Partnership between large and small businesses, so that large businesses mentor smaller ones
12. 3 month holding in VAT and income tax
13. Premises- difficult to go from residential to business re: planning in general
14. Bank charges- reduce
    
    We will continue to update this list as we hold more meetings over the next few months in the hope that some of these are reflected in the front line changes of support of businessess.
    
    If you have comment or wish to bring to our attention or make suggestion that we can raise for you please eamil us at econcrisis@southwarkcommerce.com
    
    

    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

• B2B Conference Speeches

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• The Chamber of Commerce Economic Manifesto

  Southwark Chamber like all of us over the last few weeks has been trying to keep pace with the cut and thrust of our economy, vast sums being handed over to banks, interest rates going down, ‘experts’ pontificating, politicians running for cover and worst of all businesses and their employees worrying on what the future will hold over the chill of winter.

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• Promote Your Company

  Every month the Chamber has 4 pages of its own editorial in the weekly newspaper of the Southwark News, (SN), this is an important medium we have arranged with the News and it's Editors, Chris Mullany and Kevin Quinn, who are passionate about in supporting all businesses in Southwark

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• Here you can Join the Chamber

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