A NEW business networking group will stage its first meeting in Barrhead this month.

The brainchild of East Renfrewshire property professional Fraser Kelly, the gathering takes place at Frankiez Café Bar, in Carlibar Road, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm on Wednesday, April 13.

Fraser told the Barrhead News: “It’s taken a while but we have found a venue. We have arranged it with Frankiez and they are keen to host it, which is great.

“Everyone will introduce their business and discuss with other owners how best they want to do things going forward – for example, if it should be a monthly meeting.

“It will be an opportunity to find out what people want to get from the event and we will go from there.

“The response has been great. There are a range of businesses taking part, including a couple of cafes, building trades like home improvements and damp specialists, website designers and those doing hypnotherapy.

“A mix is ideal because it would be boring if it was all the same type of businesses.

“Hopefully it will introduce people to businesses that they didn’t know were in the area.”

The dad-of-one set himself up as an independent estate agent covering Barrhead and Newton Mearns, partnered with national estate agency Keller Williams, last year.

Along with his wife Jen, he also runs Kelly Property Scotland, which renovates properties in Barrhead.

Part of Fraser’s idea is to create a business directory for the local area.

He explained: “The hope is the directory will be given out to customers and will help businesses and customers through a list of local trades.

“At the meeting, once we have introduced the businesses and how they can help, we will spend the rest of the time on the directory and how best to use it, as well as establishing if firms would be happy to share it.”

So far, a total of 20 businesses have signed up to attend but Fraser has stressed there is still time for others to come forward and join in.

He said: “We need an idea for numbers, so we ask people who want to attend to let us know by Monday, April 11.”

For more details, send an email to fraser.kelly@kwuk.com or call 0779 519 0340.