Brighton Chamber

About the partnership

Brighton Chamber, formally Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce, is the not-for-profit business membership organisation for Brighton & Hove, founded more than a century ago. Led by chief executive Sarah Springford, it brings together hundreds of businesses of every size and sector, from sole traders to some of the city’s best-known employers. It runs a busy programme of events, including its Big Debates and the annual Brighton Summit, and works with partners across the city on business support, skills, careers and the local economy, always with a distinctly Brighton-centric outlook.

Always Possible has been a Chamber member and partner for many years, working together on business support programmes and on public conversations about the city’s economy.

In 2021, as businesses recovered from the pandemic, Brighton Chamber and Always Possible co-designed and delivered Reset. Restart, a support programme for small and early-stage businesses funded through the Business & IP Centre Brighton & Hove. It returned in 2022 with a stronger focus on women and ethnic minority entrepreneurs, freelancers and people moving into self-employment. Brighton Chamber managed the programme for the Business & IP Centre, while we designed and facilitated practical workshops and peer networking sessions, ran one-to-one support using the Business Model Canvas and produced a series of audio guides, all aimed at helping businesses adapt and build more resilient business models.

Richard Freeman, Always Possible’s founder and CEO, has also been a regular voice at Brighton Chamber events. He has chaired or facilitated several of its Big Debates since 2019, on topics from scaling Brighton businesses and the future of the office to net zero and recruitment, helped curate its Base Camp event on post-pandemic growth, and spoken on panels about bidding for public contracts and what devolution means for Brighton.