World-renowned conference, events, meetings and exhibition centre, The QEII Centre, has announced a remarkable year of business stabilisation and recovery, resulting in the Centre’s third best trading performance since opening in 1986.
According to the Centre’s latest report and accounts, The QEII Centre delivered total revenues of £14.95m for the period 2022-23, equivalent to 94 per cent of what was achieved in its best year of trading in 2019/20 (£15.94m).
The venue’s enquiry and booking levels continue to exceed expectations with the year-end forecast for 2023-24 looking even better with turnover expected to hit circa £16.5m.
The leading London venue, which is situated opposite Westminster Abbey, has also reported several long-term bookings with multi-year deals contracted as far out as November 2029.
In 2023, more than 320 high-profile events were held at the venue, including prestigious international events such as the Norwegian Developers Conference; Alan Turing Institute AI UK; Qcon; Isokinetic: Football Medicine the Pursuit of Excellence conference; T2RL Engage; and the IAEA Fusion Energy Conference.
Mark Taylor, Chief Executive, The QEII Centre said: “We’re delighted with these impressive trading figures which puts The QEII Centre in a robust position for the future and is a great indicator of the wider health of the meetings and events sector. We’ve experienced good recovery since Covid, and because of the nature of our industry and its long lead times we are experiencing that strong recovery now. Together with the many multi-year deals that we have on the books we are in a fantastic position for the future.
“As a people-based business, I’d also like to say a huge thank you to the team here, who have played a critical role in driving and delivering business recovery and growth.
“As we look to the future we will continue to invest in our people, strengthen our technological competitiveness and sustainability credentials and seek new opportunities to further drive commercial revenues.”
Since 1986, the flexible seven-storey QEII Centre has played host to a huge variety of meetings and events, from major international government conferences to conventions, exhibitions and events for the corporate and association sectors to dinners, AGMs, award ceremonies and graduations. Situated in a prime location opposite World Heritage Site, Westminster Abbey, the QEII Centre is one of London and the UK’s foremost conference and events centres.