A brand new full colour business directory for the Fort William and Lochaber area is now available. The directory called "Business Lochaber" is an updated version of a Business Directory that was first produced in 1987.

Business Lochaber was published locally by Promote with assistance from Lochaber Enterprise and the Highland Council. 15,000 copies of the new A4 business directory have been produced and they are being circulated to homes and businesses throughout the area.

The aim of Business Lochaber is to encourage 'business-to-business' and 'business-to-consumer' trading within the local area. It is anticipated that the business directory will raise the profile of businesses in and around Fort William and Lochaber to a local, regional and national audience.

Caron Dunlop from Promote said: "It has taken us around 6 months to produce Business Lochaber and it is great to finally see the finished result. The process involved contacting over 1200 local businesses and offering them the opportunity of participating free of charge in the new directory. Businesses also had the option of paying for additional advertising and without this revenue the directory would have been less likely to become a reality."

Every attempt was made to speak to all the businesses operating locally by writing to them in the first instance and then following this up with telephone calls. The directory is as comprehensive as it has ever been. It has a completely new look along with an easy to use alphabetical business section at the back. Businesses were also offered the opportunity of being included within a Highlands and Islands on-line Business Directory.

Jackie Wright, chief executive of Lochaber Enterprise said: "Early indications are that the new Business Directory will prove to be a great success. There is no doubt that it has always been a very useful resource since it was first published.

"We get many requests for information about the kinds of products and services which are available locally, and the business directory is an essential reference point for dealing with these. The directory will also be ideal for letting local people know exactly what types of businesses are on their doorstep and this will help increase spending locally and prevent trade being lost to other areas."

Dot Ferguson, area development manager for The Highland Council, added: "The Council is delighted to contribute to this project and has also been working with the Lochaber Retail Association to produce an additional listing which will encourage local businesses to source their goods from other local suppliers. This directory provides an excellent information source on which to base a 'business to business' directory."

Business Lochaber is currently being circulated door-to-door and this process will be complete by mid September. Anyone who hasn’t received a copy by then can contact Donna Beck at Lochaber Enterprise on 01397 704326.