FEARS over the coronavirus have forced organisers to postpone a Basingstoke event to prevent its spread.

Basingstoke-based events company, Memo Events, have announced it has postponed its annual Business Expo which takes place at Oakley Hall Hotel.

The business event, which was first launched in 2011, was due to take place on March 26, but with 500 people expected to attend, it has now been rescheduled for 17 September.

The founder of Memo Events, Matthew Larcome – who won Young Businessperson of the Year at last year’s Inspire Business Awards – told us how the coronavirus outbreak has impacted his business: “Many of our delegates have expressed concerns regarding the coronavirus and are understandably worried about their health.”

“In the last few days, we’ve had to implement our contingency plan and reschedule multiple events, whilst trying to balance the books financially amid the current financial crisis that has followed,” continued Matthew. “Many people are also worried about job losses, the economic impact and are wondering when our daily lives will return back to normal.”

But it’s not all bad news from the local events firm, as they have plans to launch a new series of smaller exhibitions later on in the year, to help make exhibiting and networking more affordable for small, local businesses.

To find out more about the Basingstoke Business Expo or to register for free tickets to the event in September, go to: b2bexpos.co.uk/basingstoke.