The next Harrogate Business Lunch on Friday, 3rd February 2012 at Pavilions of Harrogate on the Great Yorkshire Showground with special guest speaker Ann Widdecombe.

Drinks will be available from 11.45 with the lunch commencing at 12.30 and finishing at 14.30 prompt. Tickets are £35 each or £350 for a table of 10.

Click here to download a booking form and return to bridget@williams-im.com All replies must be returned with accompanying cheque by FRIDAY 27 January.

  LUNCHEON SPONSORS:

  ASPECT DESIGN & MARKETING 

  www.theaspectgroup.co.uk

The next lunch will be on 18th May with an Olympic theme and Roger Black MBE as the speaker.

Sponsors for the 2013 lunches are being sought - they will be held on 18th May and 12th October.

The Sponsor is mentioned in the Ackrill Media Group of newspapers leading up to each lunch and is included in marketing leaflets, gifts, etc. at the lunch. A representative for the Sponsor's company thanks the speaker and has their picture taken with the organisers and guest speaker, which goes in the paper with a write up about the lunch.

To be added to the list for invitations to future lunches, please email mail@howardmatthews.co.uk.

Past Speakers:

Howard Jones MBE
with the sponsor and organisers

Duncan Goodhew MBE
and the organisers

Lord Jeffrey Archer
Air Commodore Simon Bostock

Bob Champion MBE

Gareth Chilcott

Kevin Connolly

Terry Crystal

Jonathan Davies

Paul Fletcher

Bill Fotherby

Bill Giles

Clive Gott

Duncan Goodhew MBE

Harry Gration

Christine Hamilton

Bob Harvey

Derek Hatton

Brendan Healy

Richard Jackson MBE

Howard Jones MBE

Dr Kevin Jones

Mark Lawson

Jan Leeming

David Nobbs

Edward Macmillan- Scott

Ian McCaskill

Peter McCormick OBE

Nicky Pattinson

Ralph Rimmer

Stephen Smith

John Stalker

Denis Taylor

Cyril Villiers

John Virgo

Victor Watson

Howard Webb MBE

Simon Weston OBE

Ann Widdecombe

Phil Willis

Alan Wintersgill

Alan Wright

Harrogate Business Lunch History

The original Harrogate Business Lunch was organised by the Manager of the Halifax Building Society, who moved away, so the lunch ceased. In November 1997 David Brown (a new Lloyds Bank Manager), together with Howard Matthews, decided to resurrect the lunch and the Ackrill Media Group agreed to support it. Williams Investment Management LLP joined in 2010 to help with the organisation.

The very first speaker was Penny Hemming from the CBI and was attended by 130 people at the former Imperial Hotel. It then moved to the Crown Hotel and then to the Cedar Court Hotel, as the numbers grew, then in 2005 moved to Pavilions of Harrogate on the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The Harrogate Business Lunch is by far the most successfully attended regular lunch, with an average number of 300 guests per lunch. Three lunches are held each year in February, May and October by the Harrogate Business Lunch Club, which is a voluntary, non-profit making organisation.  All proceeds are invested in speakers and the average attendance is 300. The success of the lunch is that it is a social networking event, it always finishes on time and the catering, provided by Kings Catering Co. Ltd., is excellent.

The lunch is supported by banks, solicitors, accountants, IFA's, estate agents, insolvency practitioners and many more business sectors.