Soaring Worldwide - Powering Reputations

The British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) has signed a two year deal to host its annual summer meeting at Harrogate International Centre (HIC) – a deal worth £120,000.

The event will bring 500 visitors to the town during the four day meeting, contributing more than £500,000 to the local economy. The summer meeting is the largest the BAP organises, and it has been held at HIC most years since 2001.

BAP brings together people from the clinical and experimental disciplines as well as members of the pharmaceutical industry involved in the study of psychopharmacology. It is one of many high profile medical organisations which choose to host large conferences and meetings at HIC.

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Whilst scientists expect to find habitable new worlds as part of the Kepler programme in 2012, event organisers can find the industry’s newest stars at International Confex 2012 on the Harrogate International Centre (HIC) stand. HIC’s recently completed £13 million redevelopment project created two new stars of the North, increasing HIC’s capacity and ability to host a variety of events and conferences.

The focus of its stand at Confex will be to show people how they can benefit from the improved facilities. Halls H and G have increased HIC’s space by 3,100m2 – 20% – and can be used for a wide range of experiential events, banquets, corporate productions and product launches. The new halls add more space to larger events and offers exhibition space with great flow from the 2,000 seat auditorium.

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UKSG has confirmed it will host its annual conference and exhibition at Harrogate International Centre (HIC)in 2014 and 2017 following the success of the event at the venue in 2011.  Revenues from the two shows are likely to be in excess of £130,000.

The organisation held its 34th annual conference and exhibition at HIC for the first time earlier this year and as the result of positive feedback from the 850 delegates  it has decided to come back for a further two years. UKSG spans a wide range of interests and activities across the scholarly information community of librarians, publishers, intermediaries and technology vendors. During the three day event, UKSG utilised the 2,000 seat auditorium for its plenary sessions, Hall Q for its exhibition stands and the Royal Hall for social events.

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It’s cabaret all the way at Harrogate International Centre (HIC). The largest venue in the North of England has received a record number of enquiries for cabaret style set up at events and conferences.

In the last 12 months, HIC has seen a massive 55% increase in the number of organisers enquiring about cabaret style seating over traditional theatre style arrangements. It believes this is because organisers are looking for better value for money and increased delegate interaction. One of the biggest benefits of cabaret style is it creates a relatively informal seating arrangement allowing delegates to communicate more effectively throughout the day.

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Following the success of an event held by fashion retailer Joules in December 2010; Harrogate International Centre, one of the UK’s largest venue’s, has focused on new business within the retail sector.

Head of sales and marketing for HIC, Alison Griffin, said: “Despite the on-going challenges faced by retailers, we have significantly increased our share of retail related events during the last three months.  These include new signings as well as additional business from old clients.  Harrogate is synonymous with a high quality retail experience so it is no surprise we are an ideal location for brands wishing to engage with key audiences.”

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Swindon based communications and PR agency, Soaring Worldwide (www.soaringww.com), celebrates its fifth birthday in August 2011 with two significant new business wins.

* LSO St Luke’s (managed by the London Symphony Orchestra), who were previously undergoing a trial period with Soaring Worldwide have signed up for a six month project to improve awareness amongst event organisers. * Harrogate International Centre (one of the UKs largest venues), already a well established client of Soaring Worldwide, has re-signed with the agency, committing to at least twelve more months of work on their reputation and communications across both UK and international trade publications.

Adam Baggs, managing director of Soaring Worldwide said: “It has been a wonderful five years. The company has doubled in size year on year since it was established in 2006, and has become a dominant player in PR for the global events industry.  Over the last few years, we have and continue to represent great clients such as London’s world famous Barbican, Wembley Stadium and the city of Kyoto, Japan. We take pride in delivering great results across the media, and our work has not only helped us retain old clients but also win new ones. It is a very exciting period for us and we look forward to an equally successful future.”

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During the month when HIC welcomes Home & Gift, a trade show celebrating 50 years in Harrogate and attracting over 13,000 visitors, Harrogate International Centre (HIC), one of the UK’s leading destination and event venues, has today announced the appointment of three new non-executive directors to its Board.

The appointments are aligned with the progressive, strategic development of HIC’s business model, which culminates at the turn of the year with the completion of an £11million pound capital investment programme to complement its existing facilities.

Nigel McClea, Maggie Punyer and Richard Taylor will join the Board in late summer, with a very specific high level of expertise, to support the profile of HIC’s core business.  The profiles of the three non–executive directors are:

• Nigel McClea:  With a forty year legal career with Pinsent Masons Solicitors, latterly as head of the 350 strong Leeds office, Nigel is passionate about the Yorkshire region and is Harrogate born and bred.  Educated at Ashville College and Queen’s College, Cambridge, Nigel is currently Chair of Marketing Leeds, Chair of Leeds Ahead and a Trustee of the Hepworth Wakefield Gallery
• Maggie Punyer:  A recognised leader in the UK events industry for most of her career, Maggie has been bringing major conferences and exhibitions to Harrogate for nearly 30 years.  Specialising in the agency and procurement market, spanning many different commercial sectors, Maggie is passionate about Harrogate as a destination and HIC, as one of the founding, pioneer venues of the industry
• Richard Taylor:  A founder member of the group of entrepreneurs that acquired a single fish and chip restaurant in Guiseley, Leeds in 1988 and transformed it into the global brand success , Harry Ramsden’s, the world’s most famous fish and chip restaurant company.  Educated at Leeds Grammar School and the London Business School, his early career was with Grand Metropolitan, Jardine, Matheson in Asia and American President Lines in the USA

Angus Houston, HIC Director, commented, “In a time of significant change, and fluid and volatile economic markets, we are delighted to welcome Nigel, Maggie and Richard to the Board of HIC and look forward to the significant contribution that they are likely to give to HIC as a business and Harrogate as a destination.  These are extremely exciting times for HIC, with the new exhibition hall development coming on stream shortly, alongside some fundamental strategic changes to our business model.”

Don Mackenzie, Leader of Harrogate Borough Council and Chair of the HIC Board said: “These are very significant appointments to our Board. Each new director has a proven record of success, which we are delighted to bring into the HIC at this time and with these appointments I am confident we are in excellent shape to face the future.”

The appointments have been made at a time when HIC is witnessing a steady phase of growth.  HIC has achieved a remarkable £180 million contribution for the local economy during the 2010/11 financial year, hosting around 150 events and attracting in excess of 290,000 visitors each year.

Harrogate International Centre (HIC) has achieved a remarkable £180 million for the local economy during the 2010/11 financial year.

HIC’s head of sales and marketing; Alison Griffin said “This is a great achievement for us in the face of tough economic times and truly demonstrates the positive effect we have on Harrogate as a town and the local region.  As one of the largest businesses in Harrogate we would expect to have a substantial impact but this clearly demonstrates the value of events.  There are so many opportunities here for local business: from shops and taxi companies to restaurants and bars; to gain from the hundreds of thousands of visitors we bring to the town every year – a fact that is clearly demonstrated by this figure.”

The last year has been a challenging one for the events industry as a whole, yet Harrogate International Centre has continued to invest in new facilities, that will help bring long term prosperity and growth to the Centre and consequently the local people directly affected by its economic impact.  In particular work started on two new event halls that are due to open in Autumn 2011. On average, HIC hosts around 150 events and attracts in excess of 290,000 visitors each year, and is consistently acknowledged to be one of the UK’s top event venues.

Alison continues:  “The events industry has been particularly competitive in the last year and much of our success can be directly attributed to targeted marketing, attracting the right shows and the development of an ideal event offering.  Our excellent service levels have also helped us to retain a number of clients who were seeking additional support and advice from our in-house expertise.”

Recently, the Stroke Association has chosen Harrogate International Centre as the venue for their annual conference for the next three years (2012-14).  This event alone is likely to be worth a total of £6.6 million to the town and area.

Communications and PR specialist, Soaring Worldwide has been selected by the London Symphony Orchestra to promote the services of their city based venue – LSO St Luke’s – as a leading venue for events of all types.

Soaring Worldwide, based in Swindon, has extensive experience of strategic communications and PR activities especially with the event industry.  LSO St Luke’s plays host to a diverse selection of concerts and music workshops alongside London Symphony Orchestra rehearsals. This stylish and sophisticated venue is also available to hire for rehearsals, recordings and chamber music performances as well as a wide variety of corporate and private events.

LSO St Luke’s, marketing manager Tomoyo Miyakawa said: “We have chosen to work with Soaring Worldwide due to their reputation as a world leading PR and communications consultancy. We are looking forward to benefitting from their expertise and knowledge, whilst they raise the profile of LSO St Luke’s.”

Soaring Worldwide’s managing director, Adam Baggs said: “The whole team here are thoroughly looking forward to working with such an exciting and vibrant venue.  As events industry experts we take great care in selecting our clients, working with those that go the extra mile to provide the best quality services and creative events.  LSO St Luke’s is just such a venue – a real beacon of quality within the City of London.”

Soaring Worldwide has doubled in size in the last two years and currently works with clients including:  Barbican, Harrogate International Centre, Church House Conference Centre, Virtua, Magenta Security and DNC Wembley Stadium.

The Hospital Caterers Association returned to Harrogate in March, 2011 for their annual conference after a 13 year absence.

With the organisation of the event rotating through the 17 regional branches, the event has historically moved locations to the host region.  2011 saw the HCA returning to Harrogate on 8th and 9th March, but this time utilising the Harrogate International Centre, due to the event’s growth.

Andrea Dalton from HCA said: “As the HCA’s event has grown we have continued to seek new venues to meet the needs of our event.  The Harrogate International Centre was an ideal choice and this year’s event proved to be a great success.  Delegates came from all over the UK to the event, with numbers increasing once again.  The exhibition hall in particular looked fantastic and its location next to the Royal Hall was ideal.”

Harrogate International Centre’s Alison Griffin said: “The continued growth and development of the centre during our long history has allowed us to take on more and more ambitious events over time.  With conference spaces capable of seating 2,000 people and exhibition space in excess of 16,500 sqm, we are once again moving forward in 2011, with the addition of our two new event halls.  Such developments ensure we appeal to an ever widening range of potential clients and organisers.” The Lean and Green theme of the 2011 HCA event is particularly appropriate to HIC, which is expected to achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating under BREEAM (British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) – the leading measure of a building’s environmental performance.

Founded in 1948, the HCA is a national organisation with branches in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The aims and objectives of the Association focus on the promotion and improvement of the standards of catering in hospitals and healthcare establishments in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and elsewhere; the education and training of persons in healthcare catering services, and the provision and improvement of the professional interests and status of those engaged in healthcare catering services.

The delegates were made up from healthcare catering managers, hotel services and facilities professionals and suppliers, nutritionists and dieticians, representatives from the Department of Health, NPSA, LACA, NACC and other interested parties, who are all decision makers, working at a high level within their organisations.