Business networks in Preston: the chamber, the clubs and the campus
Four different things get called business networking here, and they suit four different reasons for going.
Business networking in Preston divides by what the body behind it is for, and the divisions matter more than the calendar does. There is a chamber of commerce with a regional remit; there are membership business clubs that exist to put their members in a room; there is a university-hosted network attached to business support and incubation space; and there are sector and interest networks, including a long-established women's business network in the county.
Preston carries more of this than a city of its size usually would, for the same reason it carries the county's institutions: it is the administrative centre of Lancashire, so the regional bodies are here rather than in the larger cities either side of it.
The chamber, and what a chamber is for
The North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce is the regional chamber, and its remit is the county rather than the city. A chamber's networking is a by-product of its main business, which is representation and trade services, and that shows in the shape of its events: some are members-only and some are open, and the mix changes with the programme.
If the reason for going is to be found by other businesses in the region rather than in the city, this is the layer that operates at that scale.
Membership clubs, and the campus network
A business club is a subscription that buys a room and a calendar. That is not a criticism — it is the model, and it works for people whose trade comes from referral rather than from advertising. Lancashire has had one of these operating out of Preston for years, and the referral-network format sits alongside it.
The university runs the other kind. A campus network is attached to business support and incubation space rather than to a subscription, so its members skew towards new and small companies, and its value is the adjacency to the institution rather than the room itself.
Where the current programme lives
Networking programmes are rebuilt every few months, the bodies behind them merge and rename, and a reference page repeating a list from a previous year sends somebody to a meeting that no longer exists. Each body publishes its own calendar and that is the only reliable source.
The provision this connects to is on the business events sheet, which covers the venue side of the same question — conference and meeting space in the city — and the invest sheet sets out why the regional bodies sit here at all.
Questions about Business networks in Preston
Is there a Preston chamber of commerce?
The chamber covering Preston is the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, which is a regional body rather than a city one. Its remit is the county, and some of its events are open to non-members.
Where are business networking events in Preston?
Across four kinds of body: the regional chamber, membership business clubs, a university-hosted network attached to incubation space, and sector or interest networks. Each publishes its own calendar, and networking programmes are rebuilt every few months.
Why does a city of this size have so many?
Because Preston holds the administrative centre of Lancashire, so the bodies that operate at county scale are based here rather than in the larger cities on either side.