High Commissioner visits East Midlands businesses
The British High Commissioner, His Excellency Paul Madden, has visited the UK to meet with companies and promote opportunities in Australia.
The High Commissioner visited the North West and East Midlands regions where he gave presentations to companies in Warrington and Leicester before making visits to individual businesses including Derbyshire favourite Thorntons, a luxury chocolate manufacturer.
Peter Lawson, Thorntons’ Head of International explains:
“International sales is a small but important part of our business and it is seeing fantastic growth, with Australia now becoming our biggest single international market. We have a strong brand and we’re delighted that chocolate lovers in Australia have the chance to enjoy our great British treats.”
With assistance from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) East Midlands, Thorntons now has a presence in the majority of large and independent retailers in Australia.
“Australia has been a great market for British companies over the years and is becoming increasingly important for companies from the East Midlands. Goods exports from the East Midlands to Australia rose from £166m in 2010 to £220m in 2012, an increase of 33%. British exports to Australia were worth nearly £11 billion overall in 2012,” said Madden.
“My team is on track to help 1600 British companies expand their business presence in Australia this year and we are looking to grow that number by another 25% next year,” he continued. “It’s great news that Thorntons continues to make such immense strides across Australia, and very positive that this successful exporter is so ambitious and keen to ensure they find new ways to further increase their sales.”
During his visit to the region the High Commissioner also met with companies including William Lennon, Informed Solutions, Glossop and Field Candy; to see if he could help with their export strategies.
The High Commissioner also wrote about his trip in this blog post.