Profits up in record year for ACC Liverpool
LIVERPOOL’s Arena and Convention Centre has reported a 25% increase in annual profits after growing revenues to record levels after welcoming more than 80,000 visitors to more than 100 events.
The venue, opened on the city’s waterfront since 2008, grew turnover in the year to the end of March by nearly 5% to £15.4m, as profits jumped 25% to £380,000.
Highlights during the same period included the Audi UK National Forum, BBC Worldwide Showcase, Diabetes UK and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists World Congress.
During the year, some 87,000 delegates were welcomed to 105 conferences, generating £137m in economic benefit to the city. On its own, the Echo Arena attracted 443,000 visitors to 72 events including Arctic Monkeys, Strictly Come Dancing, Russell Brand and the World Karate Championships.
Bob Prattey, chief executive of ACC Liverpool, said: “We are pleased to confirm another successful financial year for ACC Liverpool, taking our total economic impact since opening to £860m.
“2015 will be a significant year for us with the opening of our new exhibition centre and integrated Pullman hotel. The development will enable us to host consumer and trade exhibitions as well as increasing the number of national and international conferences and major entertainment events.
“We will be the only purpose-built integrated arena, convention and exhibition centre in Europe and the newest facility of its kind in the UK.
“Meanwhile we are continuing to invest in our existing venue and have made sizeable enhancements including the refurbishment of VIP boxes in the arena, Wi-Fi upgrades, a wider range of technical equipment and changes to our galleria. These improvements are set to continue.”
Growth is expected to continue in the current financial year. Conference highlights for next year include the Liberal Democrats spring conference, the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology and the return of BBC Worldwide Showcase for the fourth time. Arena highlights include Strictly Come Dancing, Lionel Richie and Disney on Ice.
Bob Prattey added: “2013 – 14 was another year of positive development for us, staging high profile national and international conferences and attracting big names in the entertainment world. I’m delighted to say that this is continuing and this month alone we are hosting 27 entertainment events across all ACC Liverpool venues as well as a series of conferences in the convention centre.
“Next year we will massively expand our existing facilities with the opening of Exhibition Centre Liverpool and are working hard to ensure we have a busy calendar of diverse events for visitors and delegates. We expect to make more exciting announcements in the coming months.”
