BUSINESS leaders have found a novel way of spicing up their networking events — by discussing the hot topics of the day over a curry.

The first meeting of the Curry Club will be held in July, when more than 50 of the area’s leading businessmen and women are expected to attend the invitation-only event.

The launch will take place at the Spice Valley restaurant in The Valley, Bolton, and has been organised by Tenon Corporate Solutions and Kippax Beaumont Lewis (KBL) solicitors.

Gill Hart, marketing manager at KBL, said: “The Curry Club aims to be much more than a networking event.

“Yes, we want to develop meaningful links between the service sectors and strengthen relationships that already exist, but we also want to create a genuine forum for discussion.”

The club’s first guest will be Ilona Krohn, principal economic adviser at Greater Manchester Chamber, who will lead the debate on how they can help each other through the current economic challenges. She will outline her thinking on the national and local economy, followed by lunch and round table discussions.

Phil Stephenson, partner at KBL, said: “Every professional service business in Lancashire is all too aware of the impact of the economic downturn. We feel that it’s time to do something proactive now, to help ourselves.”

Ben Barrett, director at Tenon, said: “We hope everyone who attends will leave with some clear action points and a clearer idea of what they can do to help their business. If the lunch is a success, we’ll meet again quarterly to listen to other speakers on local or topical subjects, review our plans and update our counterparts in other professional service firms.”