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Southampton 2025 trust partners with India Business Group

THE Southampton 2025 trust has partnered with India Business Group (IBG) to strengthen the city’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2025 and to transform as a global trading destination.

The IBG will help promote the positive impact that winning the bid will have upon Southampton, which has a strong India diaspora.


The promotion includes the overall economic benefits, inward investment opportunities, the creation of new jobs and showcasing the city's rich diverse and cultural heritage.

The IBG will also play an important role in developing new local, national and international business pportunities, aligned to Southampton 2025’s vision.

The UK City of Culture is a designation  given to a city in the UK for a period of one year.

“Bidding to be UK City of Culture provides an opportunity to showcase Southampton’s diverse communities. Since early November, we’ve been holding city-wide virtual meetings to gather exciting ideas for the bid. Listening to the local communities is at the heart of the bid and people of every age, faith, ability, race and sexual orientation from across Southampton will continue to have a say in shaping the future of our city," said Claire Whitaker OBE, Southampton 2025 UK City of Culture Bid director.

Amarjit Singh, founder and CEO, IBG said: “Southampton is such a diverse, multicultural, multi-faith city with world-class industries, globally recognised institutions and cutting-edge research facilities, such as the University of Southampton. We innovate, we inspire, and we open our doors to more than business. We seek, discover and cherish our friends across the globe for meaningful and long-lasting relationships.

“This bid is our golden opportunity to forge even closer links as we show off what this tremendous city has to offer the world.”

The IBG is an advisory consultancy specialises in helping organisations develop bilateral trade and investment opportunities between the UK, EU and India markets.

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Caprinos Pizza, one of Britain's fastest-growing franchised pizza brands, has reported strong demand in 2025 with like-for-like sales up 14 per cent year-on-year, significantly outperforming the takeaway and fast food sector.

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