Business leaders discuss Yorkshire’s ‘massive opportunity’ as UK capital of cycling
Dozens of Yorkshire business leaders met on Thursday 2nd March for the region’s first ‘Business of Cycling’ event that brought together business and tourism leaders from across the North.
The panel event, led by Peter Dodd of Welcome to Yorkshire, Ribble Cycles commercial director David Stacey and the chairman of ONE Pro Cycling team Simon Chappell, took place in front of an audience of invited business leaders at the Leeds Club on Albion Place.
The event was organised by Leeds based finance search consultancy FDYL Woodrow Mercer, which have seen significant growth in the sector in recent years.
Neil Muffit, managing partner of FDYL Woodrow Mercer, said: “We knew from our clients that there was a lot of interest in the sector as it has become regionally very important for business as well as for tourism. It is vital to ensure that the momentum generated by the 2014 Grand Depart, the now annual Tour de Yorkshire and the forthcoming 2019 Road World Championships is optimised by business.
“There is a massive opportunity for the region to become the UK capital of road cycling for many years to come. There are many, many businesses here that can both help to cement the success of the events in the region, but also drive significant business benefit themselves from a hugely popular sport,” he added.
Simon Chappell of ONE Pro Cycling said: “Yorkshire has been given a once in a generation opportunity to cement its place on an international sporting stage. I wanted to be part of the discussion because if businesses can come together to better understand the unique sector, and the commercial opportunities that drives the sport, the region will be better equipped to capitalise on its success.”
The region’s tourism and leisure sector has seen a huge boost in revenues from the international cycling events in recent years according to official visitor data, but Yorkshire and the North are also home to a number of manufacturing and retail businesses that are seeing huge growth as a result of the resurgence of the sport nationally.
The event, that was compered by David Parkin of COPA Events, gave the audience insights into the structure of the teams that drive the professional tier of the sport and the politics involved in the elite events, as well as greater understanding of the cycle retailing sector that generates many millions in revenue for a number of Yorkshire firms.
Photo: (L to R) Cycling industry experts Simon Chappell, Peter Dodd, David Stacey and Neil Muffitt of FDYL
Further information at AppealPR.com
