From Birmingham to London: Why the move?

19 April 2013

UBM strongly defends moving the Facilities Show from Birmingham to London for 2014. Why?

At an entertaining launch party at London Excel's Ecobuild exhibition, UBM announced its decision to move its exhibition from the NEC in Birmingham to Excel in London. The company, anticipating criticism of the move, was quick to give several reasons for it.

''This announcement is the result of a 12-month process of research and consultation with the market, which confirmed an overwhelming sway of support towards the move,'' said the company. ''We spoke extensively with the industry across all our shows - exhibitors, visitors and stakeholders and the clear majority felt moving to London would benefit the show for a number of reasons.''

UBM said it hopes the move will provide its core attendee base of trade and end-user attendees with an enhanced visitor experience at Excel while also attracting more UK and international visitors through London's positioning and its unprecedented UK and global transport connections.

``With every show we run we constantly look at what the market is asking us for and how we can ensure that our live events truly bring our communities together. As FM and the industry increasingly more globalised it is important for us to engage the international community and we feel London is the right location for this.

``We need to consistently evolve and grow, a move to London offers us an opportunity to reformat the entire series, providing a better user experience and also allowing for future growth. It is a leading city in the world's economy and a centre of international trade and finance.

The company also explained what are the benefits were of the Facilities Show locating with IFSEC International, Firex International and Safety & Health Expo. ``The Protection & Management Series of shows unites business professionals across security, fire, safety and facilities management. As the role of the facilities management professional evolves, keeping up to date with the latest legislation, issues and challenges across a range of disciplines is essential. The four shows combined offer a great opportunity to explore the latest developments, news and products not just within FM but those working on a wider remit or within specialised industries a greater offering.''

UBM said a move to London can connect the full buying chain, delivering more end-users who have become more vital than ever in the buying decision including IT, government and SME's. London is the natural meeting point for the world's business networks, the company said.

``From our previous shows we have seen a greater increase in cross-over from the other shows in Facilities Show the new venue will provide a far enhanced visitor experience throughout the series as visitors from all four shows can seamlessly move throughout the events.''

With respect to how people will get to the Excel, UBM says it can be reached by more people, from more destinations, in less time, than any other destination in the world. The capital is served by five international airports, it points out, with connections to 300 overseas destinations, throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas.

``ExCeL is now one of the best-connected venues in Europe,'' UBM says. ``With the completion of the £3.5billion upgrade to east London's transport network, there is now the ability to transport 36,000 visitors per hour to the venue.

``The whole rail and road network throughout the UK is centred on London, with ExCel London within easy access for major train stations including Kings Cross International, Euston, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Waterloo, Victoria and Paddington, among others.''

Then there are the accommodation options. UBM says ExCeL offers nine hotels within a 10 minute walk providing 1,400 rooms. ''A direct comparison to hotels closest to the event highlights the cost of staying in London is comparable and in a few instances cheaper than the NEC,'' the company says.