Bath Business Conference 2025

Do you want to join the largest meeting of business minds in the city? Then you’ll be interested to hear that Bath BID has announced the fourth edition of the Bath Business Conference: A Successful City, which will take place on Wednesday 19 November 2025, in the Apex City of Bath Hotel. 

The Bath Business Conference is the largest meeting of business minds in the city and aimed at local professionals looking to connect, grow, and be inspired.

The one-day event features interactive workshops, panel discussions and an impressive line-up of expert speakers in their fields. Among these are headline speakers Ojay Mcdonald, Chief Executive of the Association of Town and City Management, and local activist, founder and investor Johnny Palmer, owner of Warleigh Weir. 

This year’s event follows a hugely successful 2024 conference, which hosted 242 delegates and featured three panels, 11 workshops and a lively ‘market place’ exhibition area.

The feedback from 2024 was extremely positive with business attendees particularly enthused by the combination of serious content, brilliant networking and engaging activities. It was recommended as a great event for team networking where a group of colleagues can learn, grow and have some fun together.

Building on that formula, the 2025 programme: ‘A Successful City’, will create opportunities to learn from business peers, covering a range of topics including recruitment, finance, and, of course, AI. Kicking off the day will be keynote speaker Johnny Palmer, owner of popular tourist attraction Warleigh Weir, who will be sharing his journey in business. 

Speaking of his involvement, Johnny Palmer said: “Bath is an exemplar of how a heritage city can be run. It preserves its history, attracts tourists, has a thriving local economy and offers inclusive recreation as well as maintains the natural world. This is possible largely due to the incredible local businesses and activists. I am delighted to contribute to the excellent work of the Bath community and am honoured to be part of it.” 

At the start of the day, delegates can choose to attend a conversation between both universities on the proposed Bath Innovation development along the riverside, or a discussion on successful high streets led by Paul MacKenzie-Cummins, founder and MD of Clearly PR. 

This discussion will include Ojay McDonald, Chief Executive of the Association of Town & City Management, Kathryn Davies, Managing Director of Visit West, Allison Herbert, CEO at Bath BID, and Jess Merritt-Johns, chair of Bath BID and General Manager for the new Jollys. 

Ojay McDonald said: “Bath is receiving high levels of investment, and this reflects the diversity on offer in the city. I am looking forward to hearing from local businesses and understanding why Bath is bucking the national trend of the high street.” 

AI and technology will feature in two workshop sessions, alongside an ‘AI lab’ at which businesses will be invited to bring their AI curious queries to a team of local tech experts led by Lucy Paine of TechSPARK and Bath Digital Festival, supported by postgraduate students from The University of Bath. 

A networking lunch is included in the ticket price and after lunch delegates will enjoy a fascinating delve into real-life success stories and candid insights from a panel of local entrepreneurs. The session will be led by Anita Jaynes from The Business Exchange and feature local business success stories including Canned Wine Company, The Walcot Group, Theatre Royal and Clearly PR. 

Allison Herbert, CEO at Bath BID said: “We are really pleased to be hosting the fourth year of the Bath Business Conference. It is a brilliant chance for local business owners, leaders and professionals to come together and share ideas, inspire one another and positively plan ahead for the future, and we always hope that the day will include something unexpected. 

“Businesses across Bath and the country are all facing challenges, and it is key to business resilience that we make the most of opportunities and spaces that allow for collaboration, cooperation and the formation of strong business partnerships.” 

Standard tickets are now available to buy via the Welcome to Bath website. A delicious lunch and refreshments are also included with every ticket.