The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC), London’s most prestigious purpose built venue, recorded a turnover of £10,845 million in the financial year 2005/06 – over a 3 percent increase on last year.

The results are a record for the centre and represent the third consecutive year of strong financial growth.

The Centre also exceeded all performance targets and paid an increased contribution to the exchequer for the third consecutive year paying £1.45 million, exceeding the annual target of £1.40 million.

Other performance targets, which were also exceeded include:

·         Occupancy of three key conference areas - 526 days  (target 495 days)

·         Overall score for value for money – 95 percent  (target 90 percent)

·         Number of complaints per 100 events – 0.27  (target less than 2)

·         Response time to deal with complaints – 1.0 days  (target less than 4 days)

Over 450 events were held at the Centre during this year, many of which were high profile, such as the announcement for the route of the Grand Depart for the Tour de France 2007, the EBLEX ‘Live in London’ event and the World Maritime Technology Conference 2006.

The QEIICC’s chief executive, Ernest Vincent comments: “The year was busy across all our revenue streams, and events associated with the United Kingdom holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union, had a positive impact on our results.

“The QEIICC was the chosen location for many high profile events, such as the pre-G8 summit of Finance Ministers in July 2005, before the main meetings were held at Gleneagles and the Centre also attracted much global press coverage during the year including that from the press conference held by Transport for London, announcing the London route for the Tour de France 2007’s Grand Depart.”

“Our solid reputation for customer care and quality service throughout the Centre is a direct result of a highly desirable team spirit, which is much praised by visitors. Our results have also been driven forward by the diligent performance of our catering contractors Leith’s, who provide a service second to none.”

Turnover in 2005/06 has been six percent higher than in the previous year with strong performances in most market sectors. The in house production unit, Interface, had yet another profitable year, having now increased profits for two consecutive years.

The international nature of the conference and meetings market in which The QEIICC operates is very competitive. A wide range of facilities suitable for hosting conferences is available from large purpose-built conference centres in major cities, right through to single rooms in institutions or hotels.

The QEIICC remains London’s ideal venue for large conferences, with or without exhibition space, and for annual general meetings and gatherings of international organisations. The QEIICC hosted 38 ‘whole centre’ events in the past year, the highest number since the millennium celebrations of 2000/01. The Centre also continues to compete successfully for smaller events, award ceremonies and banquets.