Network France is a Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce project lead by Andrew Taylor, a local Chartered Accountant.

 

Andrew has extensive experience of working with the French on behalf of Leicester based clients and this has led him to believe that there may be potential benefits to other Leicestershire businesses, by creating a network of professionals and entrepreneurs who were already connected in some way to France, or who would like to do business with France.

 

France is not only our closest neighbour but the French are also our most frequent and numerous EU visitors, consistently topping 3 million visitors per year, and spending in excess of £1billion.  Similarly, France is the second most visited place by UK nationals, having well in excess of 10 million visits per year, adding over £4billion to the French economy. More than 500,000 British nationals live in France.

 

France is one of the top three most popular countries with the British and Britain is one of the most popular with the French.

 

The Chambre de Commerce Francaise de Grande Bretagne (London) has over 600 corporate members and is the largest foreign chamber outside France. The Institut Francais, in London, is an enormously successful cultural hub. Britain has a strong association of Cercles Francais (a French speaking forum, supported by the Alliance Francaise). There are also many French owned companies established in Leicestershire. France is therefore a key market with potential benefits to Leicestershire.

 

With Leicestershire less than an hour from the Eurostar terminus at St Pancras, within easy reach of two International Airports with flights to all major French cities within an hour of Leicester, and with the motorway network running through the middle of it, Leicester is better  placed  than any other major UK city for French investment.

 

Network France therefore sets out to develop the following objectives:

 

·        Create a network of professionals and entrepreneurs capable of providing advice and expertise to inward investors from France

·         Create a forum and contacts for exporters to France

·         Establish a contact network to establish business in France

·         Provide a business network in Leicestershire and France for all things French

·         Develop an arts and cultural programme during a ‘French Week’ in Leicestershire to raise the profile and encourage commercial companies to consider developing links with France.

 

We believe that the establishment of a ‘French Week Festival’, including business, schools, universities, arts organisations, local authorities, twinning associations, and others, will put Leicestershire on the map and provide a basis for developing ties with France, its professions, businesses and  public and private sector organisations, with a view to meeting the above objectives.

 

We are forging links in France with the French Chamber of Commerce (in France, business membership of Chambers is compulsory), the Franco-British Chamber, and other French organisations. In the UK, UKTI and other Government Agencies are enthusiastic about the project.

 

We have formed a Board of Management comprising members from the Chamber of Commerce, Prospect Leicestershire, Leicestershire Promotions, Businesses, Local Authorities, Universities, and other individual Francophiles.

 

If you are interested, want to help, or want to learn more, our main contacts for further information are:

 

·         Andrew Taylor, andrew.taylor@kemptaylor.com , 0116 257 5480 or 07711 798149,

·         John Townsend, JohnTownsend@f2s.com, 0116 279 2586

·         James Bowie, j1mbo@belmonthotel.co.uk, 0116 254 4773

 

Correspondence can be addressed to Network France, c/o 14 West Walk, Leicester, LE1 7NA