BOMBAY Sapphire Distillery was the venue for a Destination Basingstoke Ambassadors event.

Around 70 ambassadors – people who help to promote the borough and north Hampshire through their professional lives as a place where their businesses and organisations have found success – attended the event sponsored by Sandown Mercedes Benz.

Among the ambassadors were senior figures from AXA Wealth, City Motor Holdings, De La Rue, HCR, Fyffes, Lamb Brooks, LG Motion, and Phillips Solicitors.

Guests included the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, Counciller Roger Gardiner and his Mayoress wife Tricia, as well as The High Sheriff of Hampshire Lady Louisa Portal and her husband Sir Jonathan Portal, whose family business, was banknote printer Portals, which was once based at Laverstoke Mill, now home to Bombay Sapphire Distillery.

Welcoming the ambassadors was Destination Basingstoke managing director Felicity Edwards, who spoke of the invited guests as having an interest in the continued success of Basingstoke.

She said: “This is an opportunity for all of us to step back and think about some of the great things going on in and around Basingstoke.”

Mrs Edwards put together an aid memoir based on a recent survey about Basingstoke.

It showed Basingstoke as the third fastest growing town in the UK, and the seventh most affluent and has been voted the number one location in the UK for digital economy and is the third best location in the country for inward investment.

“If you like it, you’ve a readymade elevator pitch should you have the opportunity to persuade on the benefits of Basingstoke.”

Paul Friend, of Face TV, which is launching its Basingstoke community channel on Freeserve later this year and Bombay Sapphire’s master distiller were guest speakers, as was Basingstoke and Deane’s new chief executive Mel Barratt.

He acknowledged the importance of high specification rental properties, expat schooling and the need for a four star hotel in town, as well as strong links with schools and colleges for the next generation of engineers and project managers, raised by fellow speaker Alun Thomas, from Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni.

Mr Thomas spoke of Eni’s 40 year background in Basingstoke through Snamprogetti and Saipem.

Its recently refurbished Basing View offices, which now employ around 600 people, is a engineering centre of excellence for Eni, involved in major projects such as a huge gas field in Mozambique, which has gas reserves of 75 trillion cubic feet.

Jamie Rodgers from Waitrose spoke of sharing the goal of making the town one of the region’s premier retail destinations.

He said: “We have formed a strong relationship with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council who must be applauded for making this target a reality.

“The new store signals the completion of first phase of a £200million regeneration project, which will link the town centre with Basing View, “The scheme itself will deliver a 21 st century regional business destination in the heart of town and potentially double the number of jobs on the business park.

Indeed our new stores will create 300 new jobs with every employee becoming a partner in the John Lewis Partnership.

“Basingstoke is an exciting place to be right now.”