19:30 Evening Meeting

Andrew Finney is a well known business person in the town. He is the Chairman of HCR Board of Directors and a former Cabinet Member of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council before becoming President of the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce.

He gave a very interesting talk including:

• A resume of the history of the Chambers of Commerce and Trade organisations
• An update on the enlargement of the Hampshire Chamber now fully accredited that included Portsmouth and Southampton.
• The importance of Chambers being able to expand successfully into Foreign markets and how important the EU is to British Trade generally.
• Emphasised the need for British Chambers to be more competitive and better prepared in our European dealings and praised the German models as examples.
• Noted that in France a large percentage of businesses are members of the Chamber whereas in Hampshire it is only a relatively small percentage and this needs to improve.
• Lord Heseltine