Businesses back catering show A new catering and hospitality trade show for Cumbria and South Scotland looks set to be a sellout with stands being snapped up quickly by businesses from across the UK.

BUSINESSES in Cumbria have been moving fast to take advantage of the biggest hospitality trade exhibition ever to be held in Carlisle.

Stands have been selling out fast for the first-ever Cumbria and South Scotland Hotel, Catering and Hospitality Expo, which is being staged at the Sands Centre on April 13 and 14.

Firms from as far afield as Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire and Kent will be exhibiting at the show and Carlisle chartered accountants Saint and Co will be one of the main sponsors, along with Classic Drinks and the Upnorth Group.

Tim Whitfield, a director at Upnorth, said: "This sort of show is ideal for us. We're looking to make inroads into the north west but apart from that, trade shows in the north of England are few and far between. Normally we have to travel to the NEC in Birmingham and place like that, so to have a big trade exhibition so close to home is very welcome."

The free-to-enter exhibition is being organised by the Blackpool-based Consortium of Events and Tourism, which successfully staged an even larger event earlier this year at Blackpools prestigious Winter Gardens.

And it's not just the catering trade that will benefit. Part of the event will be a Made In Cumbria section, where members of the public will be able to discover more about local produce.

Organiser Mike Riches said: We're delighted with the response from the industry to this show, which we hope will become an annual event for the hotel, catering and hospitality trade in the north of England and Borders areas. Most of the stands in the main hall have already been snapped up and we anticipate that the rest of the stands will be sold out early in the new year. We only have about one third of the stands left available. It's certainly shaping up as an event not to be missed if you're in the catering or hospitality industry.

With stands available from £280 plus VAT a fraction of the cost of big-city exhibitions the show could also prove attractive to smaller businesses looking to promote themselves.

Anyone interested in more information should go to www.cumbriascotlandexpo.co.uk, telephone 01253 808033 or email lancsshow@gmail.com.