KEY ingredients involved in strategic planning for business owners came sharply under the microscope during a special event held in Bury.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest commercial banking teams from Bury and Bolton jointly hosted a strategic planning forum with Radcliffe-based Wilds Chartered Accountants, attended by customers and clients. The venue was the Bolholt Country Park Hotel.

Stuart Green, senior economist from RBS, talked about the global, UK and regional economies and how businesses in the north west could be affected by some of these current issues. In his presentation Michael Seddon from Wilds focused on why businesses who take time to concentrate on their internal forces will have a better platform for growth than those who do not plan.

He commented: "Economic forecasting is an important consideration for businesses and, to compliment the Bank's presentation, we focused on the impact of internal forces on businesses. Taking time to focus on this is a necessary ingredient for success and we should know, having been through the process ourselves.

"Many of our clients are also continuing to flourish with the help of our strategic planning programme."

Tom Murphy of Radcliffe-based Site Electrical, who attended the forum, said: "The topics of discussion were interesting and relevant and I'm confident that the knowledge I've gained will assist me with my future business planning. It was very worthwhile attending."