Over 130 delegates from businesses across Shropshire attended this year’s Business Leaders’ Breakfast, the first time the event has returned to being an ‘in-person’ event since 2019.

Despite the turmoil of the pandemic, delegates left with the knowledge that the future is bright for Shropshire.

Held at the Shrewsbury Club during the week of the ITF Tennis Tour which was hosted by the club this year, Managing Director of The Shrewsbury Club Dave Courteen spoke about how bringing such a prestigious sporting event to the county could boost the local economy by as much as £450,000.

Executive Direct of Place at Shropshire Council, Mark Barrow, highlighted the tremendous recovery the county had made post-covid and how Shropshire’s recovery had been faster than both the national average and the rest of the West Midlands.

A panel of businesses who had received funding from the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) told good news stories about how funding had supported the Queen’s Baton Relay in Shropshire, the regeneration of a village community, the promotion of net-zero and sustainability in commercial buildings, the development of a highly successful project for entrepreneurial over-50s, the setting up of co-working spaces across the county, and a major place marketing project.

Tim Yair, principal Net Zero Officer in the Marches spoke about the challenges of the energy crisis but also potential opportunities for the future.

Finally Hayley Owen, Growth & Programme Strategy Manager at Shropshire Council spoke about the ambitious future Shropshire can look forward to and the £104m worth of bids that have been submitted to government for future projects in the county.

For anyone missing the morning, a video of the morning can be accessed here: https://vimeo.com/768027900/de1242eb7f