Professional Sefton networking group to relaunch at Southport & Birkdale Sports Club

Professional Sefton’, the business networking group previously known as the Financial & Professional Forum, is being relaunched at Southport & Birkdale Sports Club, at 8am on Thursday 27th April.

Organised by the Council’s InvestSefton team, ‘Professional Sefton’ brings together the financial and professional sectors, which are well represented in the Borough. The free event, which includes breakfast, is open to Sefton’s financial and professional businesses including accountants, solicitors, estate agents and surveyors.

Mark Borzomato, Chief Executive of River Capital (formerly the Merseyside Special Investment Fund), has been invited to make a presentation at this meeting. River Capital Limited is a Liverpool-based fund management business. Mark will be explaining its strategy for supporting business across the City Region and providing an overview on the range of products and services currently available to businesses.

April’s ‘Professional Sefton’ will also be an opportunity for InvestSefton, Sefton Council’s Business Support and Inward Investment Service, to highlight any initiatives, support and funding that might be of interest to local businesses and their clients.

Anyone wanting to book free places at ‘Professional Sefton’ should call Dom or Sharon on 0151 934 3452 or email [email protected]

Before COVID, InvestSefton hosted the Financial & Professional Forum network events twice a year. Gatherings were well-attended and regularly attracted attendees from over 50 local businesses.

Representatives of more than 30 local businesses attended InvestSefton’s recent ‘Health is Wealth’ workshop, organised by InvestSefton Sefton and PACT Mantality.

InvestSefton, partnered with PACT Mantality, a Sefton based businesses, to deliver the event. ‘Health is Wealth’ was an informative and insightful workshop focused on improving mental health.

Held at the recently renovated Maghull Cricket Club, the workshop was led by Pact Mantality’s Paul Garrigan and Carly Skelly. Its aim was to provide local business leaders with ways of benefiting their personal and professional lives as well as their companies and their workforces.

Paul is passionate about creating mental wellness for others after struggles in his own personal and professional life. He has worked with leading experts covering mental health, trauma and human development. He has also learned from doctors and other specialists to develop courses for his business to deliver.  

As well as working in the NHS as a paediatric nurse, Carly is a professional boxer who has competed at the highest level. She is the current WBC bronze champion. She has immersed herself fully in the health and well-being industry, studying mental wellness and trauma-related holistic therapies.

Paul and Carly are currently receiving support from InvestSefton to help them grow their business as well as looking to help other businesses and to promote how good mental health can benefit both employees and employers.

After the event, Paul said:
“As PACT Mantality, we believe very strongly that good mental health in the workplace and good management go hand-in-hand, a view which is shared by the InvestSefton team.

Carly said:
“High levels of mental health wellbeing in the workplace tend to result in organisations being more productive and more profitable as well as being better able to retain staff.

“It was great to speak to so many Sefton businesses, to pass on our views and advice and hear their response.”

Stephen Watson, Sefton Council’s Executive Director of Place Economic Growth and Housing said:
“I am pleased we have been able to work with PACT Mantality, a business that is itself being helped by InvestSefton, to organise this beneficial event for other local businesses.

“It is important that we all think about our mental health in the workplace and the recent ‘Health is Wealth’ workshop made that very clear and provided some good insights on how we can look after ourselves and our employees.

“Now I’m looking forward to another busy event with the relaunch of ‘Professional Sefton’, later this month.”

InvestSefton is Sefton Council’s enterprise, business support and inward investment service. It offers free information and advice and access to a wide range of services and is there to help any business, of any size, in any sector.

As well as regular events such as ‘Professional Sefton’, InvestSefton also organises demand-led events. The topics for these are based on feedback from businesses and have previously covered Digital Marketing, Carbon Reduction, Branding and Access to Finance as well as a Meet the Buyer event for the construction sector.

A Marketing Workshop is planned for Thursday 18th May.

Local businesses can book places and suggest topics for future events by calling InvestSefton on 0151 934 3452 or email [email protected].