BCOC Live! 2026 Puts Business Conversations Centre Stage
What happens when you bring Banbury’s business community together for a day? Plenty of conversations, new connections and ideas to take back to work.
BCOC Live! 2026 returned on Thursday 15 October at Wroxton House Hotel, with 28 businesses exhibiting and a packed programme of panels and seminars running throughout the day.
This year, we wanted to give businesses even more reasons to come together. Alongside the exhibition, our speakers tackled some of the challenges and opportunities facing businesses right now, from making the right recruitment decisions and preparing for growth to getting more from your marketing.
And, as always, there was plenty of time to meet, talk and make the connections that sit at the heart of BCOC Live!
Relive BCOC Live! 2026
From a busy exhibition room to conversations with our speakers and exhibitors, there was plenty happening throughout the day.
Our official highlights film captures some of the people, businesses and conversations that made BCOC Live! 2026 such a success.
Captured by Unexplored Films.
Conversations That Matter to Business
This year, we introduced a programme of panels and seminars alongside the exhibition, creating space to dig a little deeper into some of the issues facing local businesses.
From recruitment and managing growth to getting more from your marketing, our speakers brought different perspectives, practical experience and plenty of ideas to the conversation.
Do you really need to recruit?
With employment costs rising and businesses under pressure to do more with less, our first panel asked whether recruitment is always the answer when a business needs more capacity.
Vicky Smith, Founder & Director of Cinnamon HR, and Julie Purvis, Founder & Director of Cameo Consultancy, were joined by Bethan Havard and Lisa Wenmouth to explore recruitment, developing existing employees, flexible approaches to resourcing, retention and making better workforce decisions.
Is your business ready for growth?
Growth can bring opportunity, but it can also expose weaknesses in the way a business manages and supports its people.
Joanne McMeekin from Face2Face HR led a practical seminar exploring five people questions every growing SME should be asking, covering management capability, retention, communication, consistency and risk.
Could your marketing work harder?
Hosted by Lisa-Marie Mallier, Founder of No Fluff Communications and Chair of Banbury & District Chamber of Commerce, the panel brought together Neil Gilkes from Read This Magazine, Richard Holmes from Ampersand Studio and Steve Ramsden from Unexplored Films.
Together, they explored how print, websites and video can work together to raise your profile, reach the right local customers and turn visibility into new business.
The Exhibition
At the heart of BCOC Live! was our exhibition, bringing together a diverse mix of local businesses and organisations.
Throughout the day, visitors could meet businesses spanning professional services, HR and recruitment, marketing, healthcare, finance, technology, wellbeing, charities and community organisations.
It was a chance to put faces to names, find new suppliers, reconnect with existing contacts and start conversations that we hope will continue long after the event itself.
Charity Partner – The Mill Arts Centre
This year, we were proud to support The Mill Arts Centre as our BCOC Live! charity partner.
The Mill has been at the heart of Banbury’s cultural life for more than 50 years, delivering live performance, creative classes, community projects and programmes supporting children, young people and families.
Throughout BCOC Live!, attendees helped us raise money through our charity raffle, with prizes generously donated by local businesses.
Together, we raised £[X], including a contribution from Banbury & District Chamber of Commerce.
Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket, donated a prize or helped us support an organisation that plays such an important role in our local community.
Thank You
An event like BCOC Live! only happens because businesses get behind it.
A huge thank you to Read This Magazine, our event partner, for helping us spread the word and make BCOC Live! 2026 our biggest event yet.
Thank you to Wroxton House Hotel for hosting us, Unexplored Films for capturing the day, and to every speaker and panellist who gave their time and expertise.
And, of course, thank you to our exhibitors and everyone who came along, joined the conversations, made connections and supported the event.
What’s Next?
BCOC Live! may be over for another year, but we’re already working on BCOC Live! 2027.
We want your feedback to help us make the next event even better. If you attended or exhibited this year, please take a few minutes to tell us what worked, what could be improved and what you’d like to see next time.
Complete our BCOC Live! 2026 feedback survey: https://zfrmz.eu/ixbTQNBWTpwPskhWiePi
Interested in being part of BCOC Live! 2027? Email bcoc@banburychamber.com to register your interest and we’ll make sure you’re among the first to hear when plans are announced.
You can also join Banbury & District Chamber of Commerce and be part of a local business network focused on listening, connecting and delivering for Banbury’s business community.
