Two entrepreneurs have acquired the North of Scotland franchise of an international networking organisation.
North-east businessmen Rob Hamilton and Trevor Mutch have paid a six-figure sum to Kinross-based businessman Sid Grant for the North of Scotland network of Business Network International, which can lay claim to being a part of the world’s largest networking organisation.
The North of Scotland region has eight membership chapters, featuring 170 members, from Aberdeen to Dunfermline.
The new owners aim to have 14 chapters and 300 members by 2016 as they form plans to set up further groups in the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Tayside and Fife.
Mr Hamilton said: “Trevor and I have been members of BNI for more than five years and we believe in it.”
He added: “We’ll be bringing a fresh impetus to the North of Scotland networks our first priority will be to get out there and highlight the many advantages BNI membership brings.”
The new owners were members of BNI Energy chapter, the catalyst for more than £1.5m worth of business among member companies in the past year.
Examples of success include a small supplies business securing a six-figure contract with an oil major and an IT support company winning a three-year contract with a large Scottish legal firm.
Mr Mutch said: “As well as meeting each week to pass on referrals, members can source advice from chapter colleagues on anything from advertising in local media to legal issues.
“It’s a business support network as well as a forum for business development and growth.”
The North of Scotland network plans to add chapters in Stirling, Kirkcaldy and St Andrews to existing ones in Perth, Dunfermline, Dundee and Montrose.
BNI is the largest business networking referral organisation in the world.
Last year it had more than 13,000 members in the UK and Ireland, and passes nearly 680,000 referrals worth more than £330 million every year.