Business West Chambers of Commerce

Business West is not-for-profit company with 200 staff and a turn over of £10 million. Since 1823, they have helped thousands of businesses to increase sales and boost profits.

With a community of people from businesses of all sizes and sectors, individuals can easily connect with fellow business people through your local Chamber of Commerce in Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. They offer regular breakfast networking events, allowing them to make new connections and pitch for business in an informal, professional and friendly space. What is more, their Professional Advice Service is highly regarded by their members, providing 20 minutes of legal advice free of charge as often as is needed.

As the largest Chambers of Commerce in the UK, Business West works with over 20,000 businesses with the aim of making the South West the best place to live and work. 

Established in 1823, Business West has gone from strength to strength in the last two years, helping to create 4,400 jobs in the area and winning numerous awards. In 2021, Business West became a Certified B Corp, which recognises them as a business that meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

Mission

According to their website, the purpose/mission of Business West is to help businesses of all sizes take advantage of the opportunities and address the problems created by the modern world so they may successfully start, grow, export and innovate. 

Vision

As per the organisation's vision statement, the vision of Business West Chambers of Commerce is to facilitate business growth through connecting people. So identifying members’ needs and connecting them to others who might be able to fulfill that need is what they do. This includes networking opportunities, ideas on how to raise one's profile and business advice. 

The Chamber's top level stats show that over a two year period, they helped create 4,400 jobs in the region, supporting more than 1,400 businesses to start-up and scale-up as well as hundreds more to seize the opportunities that innovation offers. 

International trade continues to be a large part of their offering to businesses with over 2,000 companies assisted with their plans to export – 700 of these generating £650 million of export sales.