HSBC Economist To Present At GCA Annual Conference

CHRIS Hare an Economist at HSBC Global Banking and Markets will be taking to the podium at the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) Conference at Carden Park Chester in January (January 27, 2026).

Chris, who also spent five years in the UK forecasting division at the Bank of England, is speaking at the GCA’s 60^th anniversary year event on Tuesday morning.

Ben Harrison, GCA Chairman Elect and Operations Director of Haskins Garden Centres, says: “It’s quite an accomplishment for us to get such an experienced and knowledgeable senior economist like Chris to speak to our delegates. The economy is one of the hottest topics our members like to discuss when they get together and we’re sure Chris will have plenty of interesting insights to impart when he joins us on the stage at our 2026 Annual Conference on January 27.

“Chris, who joined the European Economics team at HSBC in 2017, covers European and UK issues. His main areas of focus include inflation, housing markets and long run growth trends.”

Before joining HSBC, Chris spent two years working as a UK and global economist at an international investment bank.

Prior to this, he worked for five years in the UK forecasting division at the Bank of England, where he helped to produce the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s economic forecasts, while providing briefings on the economic outlook. 

Peter Burks, GCA CEO explains: “We’re anticipating that Chris will give us a ‘state of the nation’ address, as well as insightful analysis of the UK economy. The recent budget will be part of his presentation. Chris will also share his forecasts for UK inflation against current market projections.”

The GCA represents more than 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

The 2026 GCA Conference takes place at Carden Park Chester from January 25 until 28.

Peter adds: “To find out more and to book tickets, please visit our conference pages in the members’ section of our website or go directly to https://gca.digitickets.co.uk/. For any further queries, please contact the dedicated conference email: conference@gca.org.uk. If non-members are interested in joining us to attend the event, please email info@gca.org.uk.”

For further information, please visit www.gca.org.uk.

Source : GCA

Image : GCA

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