History

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The Leicester Business Festival originated from a desire to bring Leicester and Leicestershire’s economic and business message under one banner to drive inward investment and catalyse economic growth across the region.

 

The Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) played a key role in the formation of the LBF, having realised that whilst there was plenty of activity to promote the region’s success, it was fragmented and generally only impactful on a local level.

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So the LBF was created to enable Leicester and Leicestershire to promote itself from a central platform to the local, national and international community - and it has done so with astounding results.

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The first festival aimed to schedule just 20 events and to achieve local community buy-in to the concept.  Instead, over 80 events took place attracting 7,500 attendees and reached an estimated two million people.  

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By the end 2016, the success of the LBF allowed the LLEP to take a back seat and hand the organisation of future festivals over to the purposely-established Community Interest Company (CIC), under which it is now run. No longer being seed-funded, the LBF relies on crucial sponsorship from the community as its source of funding.

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Each year the Festival continues to evolve and develop so that it remains impactful, meaningful and relevant to the communities that it serves.