Somerset Chamber Business Partners
Working in partnership with business leaders
Somerset Chamber works closely with a small number of Business Partners who cover a wide range of industries and sectors. Find out more about them below.
Somerset Chamber works closely with a small number of Business Partners who cover a wide range of industries and sectors. Find out more about them below.
Bristol Sport was founded by Steve Lansdown CBE, in 2012, formed with a single-minded goal to use sport for the power of good in Bristol and beyond. Inspired by a visit to Barcelona’s Nou Camp, Steve set about founding a multi-sport model unique in the UK. Comprised of five sports teams across professional football, rugby and basketball, the Lansdown family believe that Bristol Sport should support the city and the city should support sport, investing back into the community providing a pathway from grassroots to elite.
Ashton Gate Stadium it home to Bristol City FC and Bristol Bears Rugby. It is now firmly established as the largest venue in the South-West following a £45m rebuild in 2016 and a capacity of 27,000. With Bristol Bears Men and Bristol City Men’s and Women’s teams using the stadium as their home and Bears Women playing a number of fixtures per year here, the stadium hosts more than 60 matches per season alongside international fixtures such as the Arnold Cup featuring England’s Lionesses and Red Roses Six Nation clash against Wales. It also opened its doors to over 1.2 million non matchday visitors last year through concerts, large annual dinners, charity events and exhibitions.
Permission has been granted to build the new Sporting Quarter, an investment into the local community, driving employment, tourism and housing, comprising of a 4000-seater multi-use indoor arena which will become the home of the Bristol Flyers Basketball team, as well as providing a unique new indoor venue to host a wealth of international sporting events, exhibitions, comedy shows, intimate concerts and large scale events. 500 new homes are also part of the new development, along with office space and a hotel.
We work with many businesses through our events, hospitality offerings, partnership and venue sales, as well as providing a business networking opportunity through our Lansdown Club. We are delighted to become a member of the Somerset Chamber of Commerce and look forward to collaborating with our fellow members.
National Highways is a Government company which plans, designs, builds, operates and maintains England’s motorways and major A roads, known as the strategic road network.
The team manages and improves the strategic road network to make journeys safer, smoother and more reliable.
National Highways exists to ensure that England’s major roads are dependable, durable and – most importantly – safe, is actively working across Somerset, to both keep the county’s main roads moving and to deliver several major planned improvements.
Since 2015 it has invested billions of Pounds to improve road safety and increase capacity on the road network.
At Higos, we offer you award winning, independent advice and bespoke personal and commercial insurance cover at market leading prices. With a global network of broking partners, there’s nothing our knowledgeable, specialist teams loves more than getting to know you and your insurance needs. Our experience, market knowledge and reputation allows us to arrange the right cover from a panel of over 280 leading and niche insurers. From Somerset to Cornwall, our teams are happy to review your existing levels of cover without any obligation. As well as any savings we’d expect to provide, our aim is to provide you with the reassurance that only comes with cover specifically built for you. So you can be sure you’re fully protected – and not paying for cover you don’t need.
At Higos, we love different. It’s what makes our insurance world go round.
Over the last 30 years we’ve come to realise that no two people are ever exactly the same, so why would your insurance be any different? While other insurers may try to sell you a one size fits all solution – or even turn you away – our experts will take the time to understand your unique situation. From conventional personal home, car and travel, commercial buildings, public & employers Liability, to non-standard thatched properties, subsidence, flood risks, emerging cyber threats and complex risks.
Should the worst happen and you need to make a claim were here to support you. While many brokers are reducing or removing their claims department completely, we’ve built a friendly in-house claims team to provide a prompt, personal service and complete peace of mind.
For advice you can count on, excellent risk assessment, award-winning underwriting and exceptional claims management all tailored to you – it has to be Higos.
We provide access to the sort of healthcare that we want for ourselves and our families. We’ve been helping our members as a not-for-profit organisation since 1901. That’s quite a while now and, because we’re good at it, that’s all we do. Just health insurance. No distractions.
By partnering with like-minded individuals and companies, we offer groundbreaking personal and business health insurance policies that have truly revolutionised healthcare in the UK. From funding cancer drugs not readily available on the NHS, the first benefit of its kind, to being recognised by the World Health Organisation as leading in the development of new policies that reduce costs for our members.
Clarke Willmott is a leading law firm that takes pride in being different. Our strong reputation is built on genuine client relationships and our exceptional people – each chosen for their industry knowledge and passion for their field, as well as their first-class legal credentials.
From seven offices across the country, our talented teams offer expert advice and support on a broad range of legal services to individuals and businesses, with focus on the most involved and complex matters. With Clarke Willmott you can be confident of working with the highest calibre of legal team, without the big city price tag.
Our commercial lawyers work closely with a wide variety of private sector businesses, public sector bodies and charitable organisations, providing expert guidance on almost every aspect of the law.
What sets Clarke Willmott apart is that we recognise not only the importance of providing legally watertight advice but also the need to support our clients’ corporate objectives and long term goals.
Huish is one of the best Sixth Form Colleges in the country for exam results and consistently ranks highly when compared to all other educational institutions for its students’ added value. This means that, whatever your level of achievement at GCSE or background, if you really want to succeed, we can help you achieve your choice of career development.
We have built up strong links with local organisations and employers to become a leading provider of Apprenticeships in Taunton and Somerset.
Yeovil is a tertiary college serving its community in South Somerset and North and West Dorset. Our clear role is to support the development of social and economic prosperity for the whole community. As a tertiary college we will provide education and training pathways at all levels from entry to HE.
The Council’s Environment Directorate is responsible for overseeing sustainable development, economic development and trading standards. The Road and Transport Department can advise businesses on highways matters, roadworks, bus information, the Local Transport Plan and rights of way.
EDF is committed to investing in an energy mix that balances the needs of low-carbon emissions, security of supply, and affordability.
Nuclear power is the most affordable large-scale low-carbon energy source currently available to the UK.
The new nuclear power station proposed for Hinkley Point C, will provide energy to around five million homes; EDF has appointed the Somerset Chamber to manage the Somerset Supply Chain for Hinkley.
Weston College is an Ofsted outstanding college of further and higher education in Weston-super-Mare. It provides education and vocational training to nearly 30,000 learners across the country. The College is regarded as one of the top FE colleges in the UK and won both “College of the Year” and “Overall Further Education Provider of the Year” at the 2015 Times Educational Supplement Further Education Awards. It teaches a range of higher education courses through University Centre Weston, as well as 70 different apprenticeships from intermediate to degree-level.
Weston College’s mission is “creating brighter futures”, which means that we put our students at the heart of everything that we do.
Our values:
Our corporate aims include:
Bridgwater & Taunton College operates across main centres in Bridgwater, Taunton and Cannington, catering for 22,000 full and part-time students – including 2,600 apprentices and 950 Higher Education students – and employing 1,200 staff. It has one of the broadest curricula of any school or college in the United Kingdom, offering 993 qualifications at all levels of study, from entry level programmes right through to degree apprenticeships and full Honours Degrees. It is one of only a few colleges outside the private sector to offer the Technical and International Baccalaureate Diplomas, and the only college in the country to have been awarded both a National College (the southern hub of the National College for Nuclear) and an Institute of Technology.
The College has an excellent reputation regionally, nationally and internationally as a highly successful provider of education and training, and is one of the best-resourced colleges in the UK. It has an Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) ‘good’ rating – which, just three years after a pre-emptive merger, is an exemplary achievement.
It has gained numerous national awards – including an unprecedented 15 Association of Colleges Beacon Awards – in recognition of the local, regional and national impact of its partnership work with employers in developing vocational skills training programmes to support one of the biggest surges of economic activity that the South West has ever seen, catalysed by the nuclear new build at Hinkley Point C. It is also set to play a pivotal role in developing skills training for the ‘Gravity’ project, a 600-acre site of major strategic importance for Somerset.
Leonardo, formerly AgustaWestland, designs, develops, manufactures and supports helicopters for military and commercial markets around the world. Their Somerset operations are based in Yeovil.
Established in 1866, we have over 150 years worth of heritage as accountants in Somerset and Dorset and we are proud to have worked with many of our clients through several generations. This is why small and medium-sized businesses, families and individuals continue to prosper by working with us.
We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of advancing technology, which ensures we are able to help you to make the most of the fast changing trends and new world of online accounting.
Somerset County Cricket Club was formed in 1875 and has played a pivotal role within the region ever since. As well as achieving success on the field we are also thriving off it. Our outstanding conferencing and events facilities make The County Ground the perfect choice all year round.
Strode College in Street, Somerset, is one of the very best performing colleges in the country.
The College’s reputation for quality and excellence is well documented; it has the highest possible ratings from Ofsted and the QAA for its 16-18 year old provision – including Apprenticeships, A Levels and Vocational courses; for its university level courses; and its nursery care.
The College’s recently renamed Employer Engagement and Apprenticeship team aims to make Strode the Centre of Excellence for Apprenticeships in Somerset.
The College’s reputation for quality, combined with its’ patronage of the Somerset Chamber and recent work to support employers with the Apprenticeship Levy, shows that Strode is well on its way to achieving this aim.
Newsquest Somerset, publisher of the County Gazette, Bridgwater Mercury, Chard and Ilminster News and the Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News, is a media company with a difference.
We are committed to bringing a voice to your region, investing in a passionate team of journalists proudly serving their communities with authoritative news our readers trust.
Our experienced media sales people help local businesses promote their products and services to local audiences.
Join Somerset Chamber of Commerce to give your business a stronger voice both locally, regionally and nationally. Combined with local town chambers, we represent over 2,000 businesses across Somerset with a direct line to policy-makers at all levels.