THE Nottingham business networking scene is a vibrant one and I’m pleased to be a part of it – the vibrancy hasn’t always been there, however.

Since I started trading more than three years ago, the atmosphere amongst local businesses has at times been rather morose. The economy certainly has had an effect, and some businesses have had to shut up shop completely.

We’ve heard that the UK economy is starting to pull itself back into recovery. According to national papers however, this recovery is predominantly occurring in the South East of England. No surprise really, as London has been the ‘power house’ of Britain for eternity.

It’s interesting to read that the ‘brain drain’ of talent has been identified as one of the reasons why regional cities are battling to recover. But what baffles me is that this brain drain is not a new concept.

When the economy was booming, regional centres were complaining of the magnetism London had on new graduates. Nothing has changed!

What I want to see highlighted is the number of young people that move to Nottingham to attend university and put their roots down, staying in the city to start a career or family. I’ve met countless people who’ve done just that. Yes, people move to London, but they move to Nottingham too.

The Nottingham business world has an abundance of talent and abundance of new and established businesses.

According to Blusource I&C director Bjorn Jones, “The East Midlands has been benefiting from some of the fastest growth in employment in the UK, vacancies are on the increase and more people are willing to look around for a job change than they were a year ago.”

Yes, we want to retain those people; and local businesses are being more assertive than ever. A new business networking group, the Nottingham Professional Services, opened just last week to help boost the local economy and put Nottingham on the map.

As well as the brain drain there is talk that High Speed 2 will also suck the life out of the regions. Call me an eternal optimist, but I see it as an opportunity for me and my business – alongside all the other Nottingham organisations – to start trading nationally and be a contender alongside those ‘big boys’ in the ‘big smoke’.

In fact, rather than push trade down south, it is more likely to attract businesses from London to relocate to a more affordable and family friendly location.

Nottingham has so much to offer. Fortunately the local business world is not complacent and I believe the economy is on the up and will continue to move in that direction. I hope other local businesses will join me in saying, “Move over London, here we come!”.