BUSINESS figures met in Malvern this week for the annual Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Business Expo.

The event, held at Three Counties Showground, saw hundreds of guests attend for a day of networking and discussion.

800 attendees visited, with more than 100 businesses exhibiting on the main floor.

Sponsored by Hewett Recruitment, the Chamber Business Expo featured the Networking Breakfast Sponsored by Worcestershire Business Central including more than 250 business professionals and a number of keynote speakers including Keith Beech, head of communications at One Worcestershire, Nic Millington, CEO of Rural Media, Ben Mannion, director at Hewett Recruitment and finally Sharon Smith, CEO of Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce.

Other features of the day included The Networking Zone Sponsored by Haines Watts offering free tea and coffee, provided by Water Cooler World.

The Food and Drink Producers Zone Sponsored by mfg Solicitors was main feature of the eventproving popular with attendees.

Local food and drink companies showcased their products and provided free samples throughout the day, with the chance to buy goods to enjoy at home.

The day also featured a number of free-to-attend seminars including the Budget Briefing in partnership with Bishop Fleming - Where guest speakers Bishop Fleming talked through what the announcements from the chancellor's budget mean for the business community.

There was also a high-level overview of 5G and the future of telecoms in partnership with Ubi-Tech (3R) Ltd designed to tell exactly what is 5G, its capabilities and potential.

It also took a brief look at some of the problem areas and how network traffic is forecast to increase several fold over the next few years.

Bert Bassett, business development director at Ebay also delivered a seminar in how to work local and be global for a free seminar.

Head to www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/business for more photos from the business expo.