Business networking organisation BNI Scotland North, has launched its 14th group in the north of Scotland.
BNI Scotland North, which includes BNI Central, is led by Aberdeen-based husband and wife Bryan and Angela Kinghorn, both BNI executive directors. They acquired Central in April this year after taking on the north region in September 2016.
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Now a new lunchtime group – BNI Solar – has been launched, with weekly networking and referral meetings taking place at the Atholl Hotel, King’s Gate.
Latest figures reveal the two regions together generated £19m of business for members in 2016, a 65% increase on the £11.5m total recorded in 2015. In total there are seven Aberdeen groups – including Solar – two in Dundee, and further meetings in Inverness, Inverurie, Montrose, Perth and Dunfermline.
Additional new groups are planned for Aberdeen, Lerwick, Peterhead, Elgin, Inverness, Stirling and St Andrews as BNI Scotland North looks to grow membership from its current figure of 400.
A testament to the success of members’ networking skills saw BNI Scotland North scoop six awards at the BNI Directors’ Conference held in Newcastle (June). Scotland North won awards for Region of the Year; Net Growth in Chapters; Best New Member Rate; Net Growth in Members in a Region and Outstanding Performance in a Region.
In addition, Aberdeen-based group BNI Energy, which has more than 50 members, won Outstanding Performance in Chapter Traffic Lights, a reporting system used to monitor lead generation and business gained.
Angela said: “To win these awards is a fantastic achievement for everyone connected with BNI Scotland North.
“We realise there is a lot of hard work ahead to continue with the success of the networking groups but the demand, as can be seen with the launch of Solar, shows there is a great deal of enthusiasm to build new connections and win more business.”
BNI is the largest business networking referral organisation in the world, with 928 regions across 73 countries. Scotland North members have access to more than 13,000 members in the UK and Ireland and more than 220,000 others worldwide.
BNI (Business Network International) was founded by Dr Ivan Misner in the United States in 1985. In 2016, BNI passed over 676,000 referrals worth over £452 million in the UK and Ireland alone.
