Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) held its Annual General Meeting at STEAMhouse in November.
The meeting, at which GBSLEP reported on the year’s achievements and presented its forward plan for 2023 and beyond, was attended by hundreds of regional businesses, stakeholders and members of the public.
As previously, the AGM featured a co-located event dedicated to commercial growth, innovation and business support, this time on the theme of “Better Your Business.”
The keynote address was delivered by Michelin-starred restaurateur and businessman Glynn Purnell, who gave a well-received and highly pertinent talk on overcoming the recent challenges of lockdowns, inflation, supply shortages and rising energy costs.
The event also coincided with the release of the government’s Autumn Statement and so BBC Midlands Today despatched a film crew to STEAMhouse to garner the views of the gathering’s high-profile delegates and regional business leaders.
Managing the AGM was Satnam Rana-Grindley, GBSLEP’s Director of Communications, Marketing & External Affairs.
She said: “We evaluated other conference venues in the region to host our 2022 AGM, but we felt STEAMhouse was the one that best helped us tell our story in a setting that clearly aligned with our priorities and values.”
“The sheer dynamism of STEAMhouse, its focus on innovation fostered through collaboration and its self-evident alignment with our strategy for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and our key delivery themes like young people, made it the perfect venue for this year’s event.”
A survey of attendees showed an impressive 82% of delegates rated the STEAMhouse venue ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, with specific praise for the open views into workspaces, the variety of breakout areas, great masterclasses and the facilitation of networking.
GBSLEP themselves were impressed with the support and professionalism of STEAMhouse staff.
Satnam Rana-Grindley: “The STEAMhouse team were flexible, patient and proved to be excellent partners. At every stage of planning and execution, there was always a two-way dialogue and plenty of useful guidance on how to maximise the venue for the content we had curated.”
“The 2022 AGM and Better Your Business Show was a huge success, and I am so glad we made it happen. As a result, we are now already thinking in terms of hosting some of our more market-specific events at STEAMhouse in 2023.”
