Central Hall Westminster today announces a record turnover for the year of over £7.4m, the highest since the building opened in 1912 – its 2017 Annual Review has revealed.
Central London’s largest purpose-built conferencing and events venue has also seen its turnover increase by over 64% in the last four years.
As a not-for-profit organisation, Central Hall Westminster Ltd, the commercial events arm of the central London venue, will contribute £1.4m to a programme of improvements to the historic building and to a number of local and international charities.
Central Hall’s funds for the year were significantly boosted by an increase in televised media productions, concerts and a number of high profile events. These included the first ever screening outside the U.S. of The Late Late Show with James Corden, the world’s largest gaming tournament, The FIFA Interactive World Cup, and an event to mark the UN’s 70th anniversary. Additionally, the live televised BBC New Year’s Eve concert has been held at the venue for the last four years with the fifth planned for 2017 when Nile Rodgers and CHIC will take to the stage in the Great Hall.
Continuous financial success has also led to the expansion of the events team in 2017 with the creation of three new roles including Business Development Manager, Event Process Manager and Sales & Social Media Executive.
The venue attributes its success to a continued investment in technology, a strong and versatile events team and a growing reputation in the media and conference industry.
Managing Director at Central Hall Westminster, Paul Southern, comments: “We are delighted with these record results. We are a not-for-profit organisation and have been able to provide our Trustees with £1.4m to upgrade our building and provide welcome relief for a number of charities. Central Hall was built in 1912 to hold celebrations and meetings and we are still fulfilling those objectives. The scale of the events has changed as the TV shows and concerts we host here are seen by a worldwide audience and this has enabled Central Hall to continue to run the daily events and to support some very worthwhile charities.”
“We are looking forward to continuing this success in the coming years with a view to growing revenues significantly further by 2020,” he adds.
Charities helped by Central Hall profits include the St Vincent’s Family Project, which operates within the building and supports young families in the Westminster area suffering from hardship or difficulties. Homeless charity, the Westminster Churches Winter Night Shelter ‘The Passage’, Westminster Food Bank, Westminster Crisis Pregnancy Centre and a project which offers befriending services to refugees also benefit from the increased revenue.
