The director general of the British Chamber of Commerce will speak at a key business conference today as its economic findings come hot off the press.

John Longworth will discuss the impact of the Quarterly Economic Survey at the Kent B2B exhibition at the Ashford International Hotel.

The boss will head to the county straight after debriefing national media in London and will take questions on how the results affect Kent companies.

The top boss will be joined by speaker Daniel Priestley, who founded his multimillion-pound event marketing business at the age of 21 and wrote Become a Key Person of Influence.

Social media marketing guru Warren Cass will also address the conference with tips on how to propel a business into the 21st century.

The KM Group is a media sponsor of the flagship conference.

Visitors will get the chance to network with French companies invited from the Transmanche business club - a first for the event.

Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce chief executive Jo James said: “This is the first time we have involved companies from France so it is a real opportunity to make contacts with French companies.”

At the conference, KCC will also officially announce the inclusion of Ashford to its interest-free loan scheme Expansion East Kent, funded through the Government's Regional Growth Fund.

Guests will be able to take part in workshops covering a range of topics from getting business funding, to email marketing. There will be a digital clinic and advice for property investors too.

Speed networking sessions will run at the event and Chamber of Commerce specialists will be on hand to answer business questions.

The free conference is from 9am to 4.30pm and will see more than 90 exhibitors taking part.

Details at www.kentb2b.co.uk.