All the photos from the evening can be found on our Flickr page here.

This was further highlighted by members who took to the stage to explain how membership had helped them. 

Karen Moule of Enterprise Marketing Solutions based in Aylesbury explained why the town is “a great place to set up and run a business. I strongly believe that BBF has a great deal to do with that.” Karen now encourages her clients to engage with BBF. Read more of her story here.

Medical Supermarket head honcho Nick Coleman told us…”We received a £5,000 business grant which has seen us take on a new staff member today! The fact that we won two Buckinghamshire Business Awards, led to us winning a £300,000 contract.” Read more about the support Nick received.

Martin and Sarah Dyckoff received a business grant of £5,000 to boost the marketing of their 3D technology at 3D Print World. “The benefits of the grant have been substantial” they say. “BBF’s business support team led us through the process step-by-step.” Read more of their story.

Epoq IT have made the most of the networking events on offer through Buckinghamshire Business First, as Gary Swanwick will tell you. “It was three years ago that we decided to push for growth and were introduced to  BBF. The people you meet at the events are fantastic. The advice we have received from other business owners has really helped us grow.” Read more on Epoq IT’s BBF journey here.

Mark Walker of Ashridge Security Management made the move to Buckinghamshire just over six months ago - “We knew that finding business support was crucial to help us settle and give us confidence that the move was the right decision. So, discovering Buckinghamshire Business First really helped us to navigate all of the support that’s available to us.” Read Mark’s full story here.

Elsewhere at the AGM: The plan to appoint new directors to the BBF board was announced. We will begin recruiting in January and will be looking to the BBF membership to fill the positions.

Guy Lachlan, Chair of the Buckinghamshire Business Group, updated the room on the on going activity around the Unitary Authority debate. This follows the crowdfunding campaign which raised £25,000 for a study of local government structure.

Managing Director, Philippa Batting thanked members and admitted that BBF is ‘perfectly imperfect’. “With approaching 6,000 members we might not always get it right but the best way to get the most out of membership is to feedback so that we can continue to evolve. We have already had some great feedback from our membership value survey so if you haven’t already please do feedback on how we are doing”.

Chairman of the Board Alex Pratt closed proceedings in a typical flourish: “Buckinghamshire Business First was formed by a handful of business leaders stepping up to the plate to help the business community.  I couldn’t have imagined we’d be here three years later with 6,000 members having delivered £6 million in grants. It needs to be said that we wouldn’t be here without Buckinghamshire County Council who have backed us from the start. They have supported us with funding and have also provided valuable support on infrastructure projects like the rollout of superfast broadband across the county.”

Give us a call on 01494 927130 to see how we can support your business. However you choose to engage with us, we will be there every step of the way to support you. Join in the business conversation on LinkedIn and Twitter. See what funding you could receive, discover our diverse events programme and spread the word!