- London Gatwick welcomes over 100 businesses to a conference to help them grow overseas
- Gatwick teams up with Government’s Business is GREAT campaign with a host of other inspiring speakers
- Event follows new polling released earlier this month showing that small businesses and SMEs from all around the UK want Gatwick expanded
LONDON, 2015-3-26 — /Travel PR News/ — London Gatwick has teamed up with the Government’s Business is GREAT campaign and Barclays to today hold a conference for more than 100 British businesses designed to help them grow internationally.
Branded TAKE OFF: Growing Your Business Abroad, the event is split into three themes providing practical advice from experts and real-life stories from entrepreneurs who have successfully grown their businesses abroad.
The event –– will feature an impressive list of keynote speakers including:
- Guy Stephenson, Chief Commercial Officer at Gatwick Airport
- Martjin Bertisen, Sales Director at Google
- Kath Willis, Regional Head of International SME at Barclays
- Denise Harris, Director UK Trade & Investment and Head of UK Export Finance
- Emma Jones, Founder of Enterprise Nation
The half-day session will also include panel discussions and audience participation along the following themes:
- Export Finance – how to secure finance and expand overseas
- Online Exporting – how to maximise overseas sales through online channels
- Going Global – how to take a business to new international markets
TAKE OFF is the latest initiative from Gatwick to support small businesses, and builds on the ‘Go Global’ mission which saw Gatwick, Enterprise Nation and Norwegian send 100 small businesses to New York on the biggest trade mission of its kind. Gatwick is also a major supporter of the Traveltech Lab, a new incubator for travel technology start-ups, launched by London & Partners and the Trampery on 10 March.
Guy Stephenson, Chief Commercial Officer at London Gatwick, said: “At Gatwick, we understand the importance of affordable access to overseas markets for young businesses and want to help facilitate their international ambitions. Our offering is all about innovation, value for money and driving efficiency throughout the airport experience. We recognise small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy and Gatwick is the gateway to their global markets.”
Emma Jones, Founder of Enterprise Nation, said: “With so many small businesses starting trade on a Monday and trading with the world by Wednesday, they need to access practical guidance on how to enter new markets – and they need routes to those markets. In hosting this event, Gatwick is delivering both. I have seen at first hand just how committed Gatwick is to helping small businesses Go Global – I hope it secures the runway go-ahead so thousands more small businesses can make the most of international trade opportunities.”
Notes to editors:
Fast facts – business travel at Gatwick
- Of the 38 million passengers travelling through Gatwick each year – one in five are travelling on business.
- Gatwick has the largest domestic and short haul network of any UK airport.
- Gatwick serves 47 of the top 50 EU business routes daily.
- Around 40 long-haul destinations including key US cities such as New York and Los Angeles
- Services to high growth markets including Russia, Turkey, Indonesia and Vietnam.
- London’s best-connected airport by rail, offering direct connections to 129 stations.
- Gatwick has invested £1 billion since moving to new ownership in 2009. A further £1 billion is planned over the next seven years to transform the passenger experience.
For more information contact:
Gatwick Airport press office
t: + 44 (0) 1293 505000
e: gatwickmedia@gatwickairport.com
About London Gatwick
Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the most efficient single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 200 destinations in 90 countries for around 38 million passengers a year on short and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 21,000 on-airport jobs and a further 10,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.
In its December 2013 interim report, the Airports Commission included London Gatwick and Heathrow on its shortlist of potential locations for a new runway in the UK. Expansion at Gatwick will best meet the UK’s aviation needs for the future, can provide the greatest economic boost with the least environmental impact, and a new runway can be operational by 2025. For further information, see: www.gatwickobviously.com
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