THE first Leigh Business Expo has been hailed a success.

More than 500 representatives from businesses in Leigh and Atherton attended the event at Leigh Sports Village on Friday to expand their contacts and create future business deals.

Social media workshops and a business clinic were also held.

Organiser Nichola Howard, from Launch Events North West, said: “The day went really well. It is always a bit scary when you do something for the first time but we had about 500 visitors which was better than we expected.

“Most of the businesses were from Leigh and Atherton which was what we wanted. We needed the Leigh businesses to get behind us otherwise it wouldn’t have worked.

“Lots of visitors told us they had never been to a business expo like it. We tried to make sure it wasn’t stuffy – we wanted it to be interactive and for people to enjoy themselves.”

The event was opened by MP Andy Burnham and Mayor of Wigan Clr Phyllis Cullen.

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