IT'S Hampshire's leading independent business read - 46 pages packed with interesting stories affecting literally thousands of workers in the south.

The free February issue of Hampshire Business South Magazine provides food for thought in many areas, from the smallest firms to the biggest employers.

Find out how one cutting-edge firm is fighting for survival because it had the financial rug pulled from underneath its feet, and how a business with a conscience bowed to public opinion.

Big regional names in next month's edition also include Skandia Life, British Gas, Lloyds TSB, VT Group, Southampton Airport and Pfizer.

There's a spotlight on RMS Queen Mary 2, and what is means to the port economy of Southampton.

A critical eye is cast over the latest developments regarding a £3 billion contract to build two airship

carriers for the Royal Navy, and we check out how one company has built up business against all odds

following the terrorist atrocities of 9/11.

There's even a Hello!-style look at a family-run building contractor, who has been through thick and thin, and a meet-and-greet party involving the shakers and movers from Southampton's buoyant property world.

And there's bags of news from the Southampton and Fareham Chamber of Commerce, which has its own inset magazine.

Hampshire Business South Magazine - are you in it?

To order your copy, contact our subscriptions administrator Peter Bullwinkle on 023 8042 4722.