Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce to mark 120th anniversary with celebration event

Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce will mark a major anniversary at a celebration event next month.

The Chamber is holding the BIG Business Celebration Lunch at the IXL Events Centre in Southam on Thursday, March 23 between 11am and 3pm.

The event will kick-off a year of celebrations as the Chamber commemorates its 120th anniversary.

It will include a keynote address from Baroness Martha Lane-Fox (pictured), the president of the British Chambers of Commerce and the co-founder of Europe’s largest travel and leisure website, lastminute.com.

Hundreds of firms are expected to attend the event which will see some of the Chamber’s archives on display, showing its achievements over the course of 120 years at the heart of the business community in the region.

It will highlight how the Chamber has been supporting businesses from its inception in 1903 and how it has helped the local economy to navigate its way through wars, recessions, depressions, and other crises right up to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was back in 1903, when Vernon Pugh, managing director of Rudge Cycles based in the city, called together local business leaders to discuss the formation of a new and modern Chamber to represent the interests of their fast-growing companies and to promote trade within the UK and beyond.

A Chamber was formed, and Mr Pugh became its first President. Other founders included Siegfried Bettman (Triumph), Sir Edward Manville (Daimler) and Col. William Wyley (Wyley & Co) who was to leave his home, the historic Charterhouse, to the people of Coventry on his death in 1940.

Corin Crane, Chief Executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a great opportunity to mark a major milestone for us as a Chamber of Commerce and to recognise some of the incredible achievements of businesses in our region over the past 120 years.

“Over recent weeks, we’ve been looking back over old documents and photographs and it’s interesting to see that some of the issues that we face today are the same as those that businesses were facing over a century ago – from ensuring they can find the right skills to breaking down barriers to trade.

“The Chamber has been there every step of the way supporting firms through every crises imaginable, providing stability, support and a voice for businesses into decision-makers at every level.

“That is what we continue to do to this day by changing and evolving to meet the needs of companies right across the city and the county.

“So, while this is a celebration of our history it is also a chance to look forward and to ensure the Chamber continues to meet the needs of businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire to make sure the economy of this fantastic region not only survives, but thrives.

“It is going to be the largest networking opportunity this spring and will bring together business and civic leaders from across the city and the county.”