Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Kris Hopkins Excerpts

Wednesday 4th March 2015 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)]

My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has made the following written ministerial statement:

I am today announcing key performance targets that have been agreed for the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre for the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

The agency’s principal financial target for 2015-16 is to achieve a minimum dividend payment to the Department for Communities and Local Government of £1.7 million as proposed in the business plan for the year.

The agency also has the following targets to achieve:

Room hire—to achieve a capacity utilisation ratio of 53%.

To generate secondary revenue from audio visual and information technology services and catering royalty which in total equates to a ratio of 90% of room hire revenue.

To achieve an overall score for client satisfaction of at least 90%.

To receive less than two complaints per 100 events held.

The centre is forecasting an increase in its annual dividend payment to the Exchequer from £1.5 million in 2014-15 to £1.7 million in 2015-16 which is projected to rise further over its corporate plan period.

I am also delighted to announce that the centre has delivered significant improvements and enjoyed considerable success over the course of the last two years.

For the year ending 2014-15 the centre delivered a growth in room hire revenue of 17.3% in comparison to the previous year, a substantial achievement.

For 2014-15 the centre also delivered the best trading results across all income streams since 2009-10 and in one month, June 2014, delivered the highest occupancy level and revenue generating month since it opened 29 years ago.

In economic terms it is estimated that the centre delivered an economic impact to the London and UK economy of £122 million in 2014-15.

The centre remains fully self-funding and has invested wisely in improving its facilities and services and as a result was awarded the 2014 gold award for best large venue by Eventia, the UK’s largest event industry association.

The centre is an increasingly successful profit-making agency, paying an annual dividend which is forecast to increase again in 2015-16 and in each of the years covered by its corporate plan.

I would like to offer my congratulations to the centre’s management team for their proactive and determined efforts in modernising and improving this agency and its performance.

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