A Christmas Message from Simon Beardsley, Chief Executive

2022 has been a turbulent year – we began the year still under the cloud of COVID restrictions which carried through the first half of quarter one. Rising inflation and supply chain difficulties continued to be at the forefront of concerns for businesses and just as we began to emerge from the pandemic, a war in Ukraine, associated energy crisis ensued as well political turmoil.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the efforts of our members. The uncertainty of the economic landscape is and continues to be extremely difficult, but Lincolnshire businesses have once again shown they are resilient and robust.

As ever, we will continue to support local businesses as they continue to grow and innovate by promoting Lincolnshire as a great place to do business, representing our members locally, nationally, and internationally.

Despite this year’s challenges, we have many highlights to look back on.

We welcomed a new Chair who will lead our Board of Directors and support our leadership team during our next phase of growth. We have enormous aspirations for growth and are totally committed to doing that – not for our benefit, but for the benefit our members and business community.

We have seen two internal promotions, Francesca East to Head of Membership and Charlotte Watson to Deputy Chief Executive both of which will be pivotal to taking the Chamber forward and supporting our members in 2023 and beyond.

This year also marked the return of the South Holland Business Awards and it delights me to say that the awards were the biggest and best yet, with a record number of guests in attendance.

We also launched the first major International Trade event for Lincolnshire-based businesses. The event was an incredible showcase and celebration of the world of opportunities brought to businesses by exploring international markets.

We secured two new Patrons, Upp, and Stadia Utilities, both of whom are there to support our members and business community across Lincolnshire, along with existing and long-standing patrons: Lincoln College Group, Siemens Energy, Anglian Water, Lincolnshire Co-op, University of Lincoln, and Lincoln City Football Club.

We launched Lincolnshire Food & Drink, previously known as Select Lincolnshire and have seen continued growth in this membership as well as UK Fresh Produce Network, both within the County and outside of it, reinforcing the significance the role the Food and Drink sector plays in Lincolnshire.

It is also important to look to the future. Whilst this year has been more than difficult for many, there is a lot to be optimistic about for 2023. We have seen evidence of inflation beginning to ease but going into 2023 it is vitally important for businesses to see concrete actions on measures that produce the right environment to invest, such as infrastructure, skills, and trade.

We have a number of exciting projects going into 2023 surrounding key topics including sustainability, wellbeing and International Trade and we look forward to sharing details in the New Year.

On behalf of myself, the Board of Directors, and the rest of the team at Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, I would like to wish our members, business community, partners and stakeholders, a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2023.

I look forward to working with you in the New Year and beyond.