A TETBURY based business group toasted success this month after generating a milestone £1 million pounds.

The Tetbury branch of international business group, Business Network International (BNI), have been meeting in the town for the last three years.

Through the meetings at the Snooty Fox Hotel, representatives from companies forge relationships and generate business by referring work contracts.

And at its meeting earlier this month the group, which is known as Tetbury Dolphins BNI, was able to announce that through referrals it had surpassed the million pound mark.

Peter Hodgson, a member of the group and owner of Tetbury health and safety firm Sureteam Ltd, said: “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for this group and the other BNI group I'm a member of in Bristol. Business referrals from the group account for 95 percent of my business.

“There is a whole pool of knowledge that we can refer to in the group, so there is more benefits then just generating cash.”

Mr Hodgson added that though referrals he has gained significant work contracts from several organisations in the area, such as North Cotswold Primary Care Trust and Tetbury-based sports equipment firm Keiser UK.

BNI has over five thousand different branches and nearly £105,000 members, both in the UK and worldwide.

After reaching the £500,000 mark around 12 months ago, the Tetbury Dolphins has rapidly grown and currently creates the most business for a group of its size across the entire UK.

Andy Platts, joint director of the Tetbury Dolphins and consultant at Tetbury IT firm Jireh Solutions, said: ““Reaching a real landmark like this has been a fantastic team effort – everyone in the group has contributed to a really stellar performance over the past 12 months.

“What’s the secret to our success? Well, we have some fantastic businesses in this group, there are no weak links, a great mixture of businesspeople at the top of their game and we all work for each other, acting as a sales force for the various companies in the group.

“There is a really good cross section and there is a really good synergy between the members of the group. Members travel up to an hour to get here it is not just Tetbury business – they do that because of the benefits it gives them.”

For more information on BNI visit www.bni-swmidlands.co.uk