Multi-Million Investment Will See Warwick Conferences Open Fourth Venue in Coventry

Warwick Conferences has unveiled plans to invest £5.3 million in opening a fourth dedicated meeting venue on the University of Warwick campus in Coventry and Warwickshire.

The new venue – which will open in September 2016 – will offer 650 square metres of contemporary and highly flexible event space from a brand new standalone facility adjacent to two of Warwick Conferences’ existing training and conference venues.

With a single flat-floor space capacity of 350 seated, expansive ceiling height and reinforced flooring, the venue offers bookers a completely new option in Warwickshire and the West Midlands, and extends Warwick Conferences’ capability significantly.

Richard Harrison, head of conference centres at Warwick Conferences comments: “This is an important investment for both Warwick Conferences as a business and the region as a whole. Demand for high capacity, high quality, genuinely flexible event space is rising and there are few venues that can meet all these requirements in Central England currently – and even fewer that can do so without compromise.

It therefore should go without saying that we are thrilled to be making this announcement today. As a completely new development, our new venue will offer an uncompromised, contemporary and striking space that will give clients a complete blank canvas for their event. And, alongside our existing facilities, the new space will help to showcase our local area, bringing more business events and generating greater footfall to Coventry and Warwickshire.”

Designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, utilising highly sustainable construction standards, the new building will feature large expanses of glazing and exposed timber glulam structural elements. Surrounded by trees and landscaping, and in a lakefront location, the venue will also feature a striking full-length glass wall, opening onto a suspended deck that overlooks the water.

The new venue is available from September 2016.

For more information, visit www.warwickconferences.com.

Academic Venues Join Forced For Agency Familiarisation Weekend

October 30th, 2015

A group of event organisers from meetings and travel management company Inntel have spent two days experiencing the best the Midlands has to offer during a motorsport-themed familiarisation trip organised by two leading academic venues.

imago, the conference and events arm of Loughborough University, and Warwick Conferences, the conference facilities at the University of Warwick, welcomed a group of 10 staff members from the UK’s largest independent meetings and travel management company for the ‘Do You Have the Need for Speed’ themed trip, which took place on 9-10 October.

Helen Lowrie, Senior Business Development Manager at imago, and Justine Meek, Client Relationship Manager at Warwick Conferences, organised the trip, which was not only aimed at showcasing the award-winning facilities on offer at both AIM Gold accredited sites, but to highlight a number of on and off-site events delegates can enjoy when booking events.

Participants took part in a series of motor-racing themed activities, including Scalextrix races and a Soapbox Challenge and Race at Warwick Conferences, and a Batak and Formula 1 Race Simulator challenge at imago. Scores from each activity during the trip were collated with the winners announced during a private dinner and awards presentation on Sunday 10 October.

Helen Lowrie, Business Development Manager (Agencies) at imago, commented: “The idea behind the joint familiarisation trip was to show what academic venues can really offer in terms of creative events. It highlights the partnerships we have with industry suppliers so the focus of an event doesn’t just have to be about meetings, but on and off-site activities too. The feedback we had from Inntel was fantastic and has gone a long way to changing the perception they had of academic venues. This is hopefully the first of many familiarisation trips we’ll be holding in association with Warwick Conferences as the familiarisation trip has been beneficial for both venues.”

Justine Meek, Client Relationship Manager at Warwick Conferences, comments: “The ‘Need for Speed’ familiarisation trip held in partnership with Imago recently was a hugely valuable way to showcase both our local area and the benefits of academic venues for meetings. Trips such as these help to highlight what venues have to offer, and partnering with imago meant that our visitors from Inntel were able to get a wider experience of academic venues in the Midlands.”

Launched in 2003, imago unifies Loughborough University’s conference and events venues under one brand which offers high quality meeting spaces, venues and accommodation along with excellent sport and leisure facilities. imago manages the AIM Gold accredited Burleigh Court and Holywell Park as well as Loughborough University’s conference and events facilities and The Link Hotel.

Warwick Conferences is an award-winning collection of conferencing venues at the University of Warwick, including three AIM Gold accredited dedicated training and conference centres and the on-site Conference Park.