The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC), centrally located in the heart of London, announced further successful financial results, exceeding its 2006/07 targeted revenue by 2.5 per cent and its targeted surplus by 26 per cent.
Turnover for the 2006/07 financial year was £10.40 million, from which the conference centre achieved a surplus on ordinary activities of £2 million. This enables The QEIICC to pay a year end dividend to the Government’s Exchequer of £1.55 million, again exceeding their target of £1.5 million and retaining the balance for future building improvements. The overall value for money score for this period was 98 per cent, successfully beating their target of 90 per cent.
Other performance targets which have also been exceeded for the 2006/07 financial year include:
- Number of complaints per 100 events was 0.74 (target set at less than 2)
- Average response time to deal with complaints was 2.6 days (target less than 4)
The QEIICC’s performance for this period contains a number of highlights; including welcoming several significant new clients and hosting approximately a quarter of a million business and professional visitors at events at The QEIICC. Among these were numerous senior members of HM Government as speakers at various events, and international delegates from Europe, the United States, Russia, Africa and India.
Owned by the Department for Communities and Local Government, The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has trading fund status enabling it to operate on a commercial basis. Thus, approximately 400 meetings and events were held at the conference centre during the year, 20 percent of which were classed as government meetings whilst the balance came from the association and corporate markets.
Chief Executive, Ernest Vincent, commented: “It is gratifying to report that we have again achieved our annual targets and to also report that our performance as a government trading fund meets every expectation. We have now met our targets five years in a row and we plan to maintain this record well into the future”. He added: “I am forecasting continuing growth of the business over the next five years and I base my assumptions on the fact that our forward booking calendar is strong and we have tangible plans to immediately increase the size of some of our largest conference areas”.
During the year, The QEIICC has been reaccredited with the Investors in People Standard awarded against a far more demanding set of marking criteria. The conference centre has also appointed MITIE as its new engineering and facility engineers; installed a new business management software programme (EBMS); and embarked on many initiatives to promote and deliver itself as a sustainable venue for greener meetings and events.