Warwick Conferences Sweeps the Board at Industry Awards

Warwick Conferences has added to its already heaving awards cabinet after once again sweeping up at this year’s prestigious Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) Awards.

The University of Warwick-based training and conference venue bought home three golds and a silver at the awards, dubbed the ‘Oscars’ of the meetings and conference industry.

For the second year running, Warwick Conferences secured a top award in every category in which it was nominated and this is the 16th time in the awards’ 20 year history the venue has taken home the gold award for Best Academic Venue.

Warwick Conferences also won gold in the Best Conference and Banqueting Staff and Best Value for Money Conference Venue categories, and was presented silver in the Best UK Management Training Centre category.

The M&IT Awards are voted for by conference organisers and the readers of M&IT, the conference industry’s leading publication.

These latest accolades are a tremendous boost for Warwick Conferences and cement its reputation as truly world-class facility, drawing the attention of delegates from around the globe.

Alan Robinson, director of training and conference centres, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have once again come away from this year’s ceremony with an award in every category for which we qualified. This is a fabulous result and credit is due to everyone who has worked so hard to make Warwick Conferences the world-class venue it is.

“To bring home gold for Best Academic Venue for the 16th time in 20 years is absolutely delightful and a huge compliment about the service and facilities we provide. That the awards are the result of votes cast by event organisers, the very people who use facilities like ours, is all the more gratifying. It’s the most credible endorsement a business could wish for.

“The industry as a whole has faced a lean couple of years, but the fact that we have thrived is a testament to our staff’s hard work, professionalism and passion for making Warwick Conferences a genuine leader in our industry.

More than 700 guests attended this year’s prestigious black tie event, which took place on Monday 28th February at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London, and was hosted by popular BBC news presenter Kate Silverton.

For more information about Warwick Conferences visit www.cceonline.co.uk or call our Hotline team on 0845 230 1414.

Creme Eggs on arrival at Woodland Grange Conference Centre!

2 special offers from Woodland Grange Conference Centre, Leamington Spa

Book a meeting for more than 10 people in the month of April 2011 at Woodland Grange and all delegates will get a Cadburys Crème Egg on arrival. *Applicable to new bookings only*

Book your event through our website and save money

EEF venues are offering a preferential day delegate rate when you book a conference or meeting via Conference Centres of Excellence between January and April 2011.

Enjoy a day delegate rate of just £45.00 at Woodland Grange in Warwickshire and Broadway House in London.

For more details about booking at Woodland Grange Conference Centre visit www.cceonline.co.uk or call 0845 230 1414

Conference Centres of Excellence drive marketing focus with new appointment

Ambitious expansion plans by the UK’s leading member organisation for dedicated conference and training centres has prompted the appointment of a full service communications agency.

Sales and marketing consortium Conference Centres of Excellence(CCE) is planning to grow its membership by 25 per cent in 2011 in addition to building its brand on a national and international level.

The consortium, which includes high profile specialist venues like Warwick Conferences, Conference Aston, the Moller Centre and Imago, has appointed West Midlands PR and marketing agency Interactive Wardlovett to drive forward communications activity.

CCE executive director Anthony Lishman said the organisation’s focus on expansion and brand building would form the basis for the communications activity for the year. “CCE is incredibly proud of the quality and the range of centres we represent and our goal for 2011 is to continue to grow our member base through the recruitment of high quality venues,” he said.

“We will also be working closely with Interactive Wardlovett to drive awareness of our brand and the benefits that working with us delivers for potential members and for organisations booking events.”
The communications campaign will encompass media relations, targeting conference and meetings press as well as proactively identifying opportunities in members’ client titles.

Interactive Wardlovett will also be carrying out research with members to create a twice yearly state of the industry report, something which Anthony believes CCE is uniquely placed to deliver.

“Our members host some of the most high profile events in the UK’s meeting calendar working with blue chip companies from across the globe,” he said.

“Working with all of our members to research the trends in the sector will provide a very valuable and insightful piece of research, which we believe will be of use to members and to their clients.

“We will also be looking at ways of proactively adding value and sharing best practice between our members, by creating a series of seminars hosted by experts in key areas like social media and the psychology of learning, managed and delivered by Interactive Wardlovett.”

Interactive Wardlovett PR director Jenni Fryer said the Cannock agency’s team was looking forward to starting work on the CCE account working alongside Anthony and his team.

“We are delighted to have been appointed by CCE to deliver the campaign, which we believe will add real value for both CCE and its members,” she said.

“Public relations has become far more than just delivering a series of press releases – it is about genuine engagement with audiences and stakeholders to give real benefits.

“The campaign we have created in partnership with CCE reflects the organisation’s business goals and will provide a genuine return on investment for CCE and its members.”

For further details about Conference Centres of Excellence visit http://www.cceonline.co.uk/news/News/CCE_drive_marketing_focus_with_new_appointment or call 0845 230 1414.

Ex-Dragon to talk tech at The Moller Centre, Cambridge

James Caan, former BBC Dragons’ Den star, will be talking to tech bosses in Cambridge later this month.


Caan has recently left the Den to concentrate on HB and said: “Technology businesses in the Cambridge area are of particular interest to me".  He will be at The Moller Centre on March 29. 

For more details about The Moller Centre email info@cceonline.co.uk or call 0845 230 1414.

New appointment underlines Warwick Conferences' strategy for growth

Warwick Conferences, the University of Warwick based collection of training, conference and events venues, has appointed Clive Singleton as general manager of its Conference Park.

Clive Singleton

This is a newly created role and underlines Warwick Conferences’ continued investment in the Conference Park. Clive transfers to his new position from the University of Warwick’s food and drink operation, where he was general manager for nine years.

The Conference Park offers a variety of facilities and amenities, including 300 meeting rooms, 1,200 bedrooms, 600 square metres of exhibition space and Warwick Arts Centre, the largest arts centre outside of London. Set within 700 acres of rural parkland, the campus village environment affords delegates access to a variety of bars, cafes and restaurants, along with access to the University of Warwick’s world-class sporting facilities.

The Conference Park combined with Warwick Conferences’ purpose-built Scarman, Radcliffe and Arden training and conference centres offer the widest choice of meeting space in the UK. Its facilities are available year-round for day meetings and for residential events and conferences outside of term time.

Clive comments: “Warwick Conferences is one of the most respected academic venues in the UK, with the Conference Park playing host to a wide variety of prestigious events each year. It’s an absolute privilege to be appointed as general manager, particularly as we look forward to building on our reputation and expanding our facilities in the coming years.

“A core element of my brief is to develop our proposition to ensure best use of the University’s campus assets outside of term time, increasing Conference Park’s contribution to Warwick Conferences’ £22m turnover.

“But of course, my priority will be on overseeing the delivery of the wide range of events and conferences hosted on our campus each year. Whether they’re attending Limmud, the huge Jewish education event held over the Christmas period, Teach First, the pioneering education seminar attended by over 1,000 delegates, or one of the many Football Association championships that utilise our sports facilities, all guests at the Conference Park can expect my undivided attention and a quality experience that is second to none.

Alan Robinson, Warwick Conferences director of training and conference centres, said: “Clive is an extremely capable and experienced industry professional and was the obvious candidate to take on the challenge offered by this new role. His appointment is a key marker in the realisation of a long-term plan to further develop our facilities and services to cement Warwick Conferences’ position as the leading dedicated conference venue in the UK.

“Significant investment has been made at the Conference Park in the last few years, not least the £6.9m refurbishment of Butterworth Hall and with further investment committed and works in progress, the venue’s future is in safe hands.”

Clive is married with two children. Prior to joining the University in 2002, Clive spent a decade with the prestigious Belfry hotel and golf club near Sutton Coldfield, where he held a number of senior positions

For more details about Warwick Conferences email info@cceonline.co.uk or call 0845 230 1414

Woodland Grange Conference Centre re-certified to the world's most stringent environmental standard.

Woodland Grange Conference Centre Leamington Spa has been re-certified to the world’s most stringent environmental standard - ISO 14001. The standard is designed to help businesses minimise how their operations and processes negatively affect the environment and the re-certification demonstrates that the conference centre is continually improving in the way it operates.

“We were originally awarded ISO 14001 in 2008,” says John Turpin, the Group Operations Manager for EEF Venues, “and we have two service visits a year to check that we are operating to the required standards. Every three years, a full assessment is undertaken and re-certification is only awarded if we can show that we are progressing our environmentally friendly processes and practices. I am delighted that we’ve achieved this.”

ISO 14001 is a framework that helps organisations develop and improve their own environmental management system (EMS) and therefore, meet their environmental goals and objectives. It can be applied to any type of business, but it is rare to find a conference centre that has achieved it.

“First and foremost, ISO 14001 helps us to reduce our environmental impact,” says John, “but our EMS also improves our efficiency and allows us to comply more easily with legislative requirements.”

The continual improvement process ensures that more and more areas of the business, and more activities and processes are covered and managed by the EMS.

While a conference centre certainly doesn’t pose the same risk to the environment as a large factory or production plant for example, any steps taken by a business to reduce the impact it makes on the planet is surely a good thing.

For more information about Woodland Grange visit www.cceonline.co.uk or email info@cceonline.co.uk

It's a hat trick for The Moller Centre, Cambridge

The Moller Centre, Cambridge wins Best UK Management Training Centre

The multi award-winning Møller Centre, the only dedicated residential management training and conference centre in Cambridge was presented with the Meetings Industry & Travel (M&IT) award for Best UK Management Training Venue last night.

The M&IT awards were presented by BBC TV presenter Kate Silverton as Mistress of Ceremonies, and were given to those organisations nominated by its clients that have shown outstanding service delivery. The gala dinner was held at The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London, in the shadow of the world famous Tower Bridge.

“The M&IT award is a special award to us because it is our clients that decide the outcome of this award” says Stuart Websdale, General Manager at The Møller Centre. “The Møller Centre won this award in 2009 and we are delighted to win again. The competition for this award is very tough particularly from the large national training centres, so thank you to all of our clients that voted for us.”

This achievement is one of four awards that The Møller Centre has won in 2011 so far, as it strives to build its world class reputation for providing exceptional customer service and quality of delivery for training and conferencing events.

For more information about The Moller Centre visit Conference Centres of Excellence  or email info@cceonline.co.uk