GLASGOW BUSINESS OCTOBER 2016
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S BLOG
Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive
chiefexecutive@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
Applause for the incredible success of the SECC and Hydro
I can barely believe that it has been three years since the SSE Hydro officially opened its doors. The annual SECC review for 2015/16 recently
popped into my inbox, and it will come as no surprise to any Glaswegian that the investment in the Hydro has delivered exactly what was intended – and a good bit more besides. There are a few statistics that really stand out. The main headline is that the SSE Hydro is the third busiest music arena in the world. That’s measured by ticket sales, and is confirmed by the concert venue publication Pollstar, which places only the O2 in London and the Manchester Arena ahead of the Hydro in its 2015 year-end stats. The O2 is in a league of its own with more than 1.8 million ticket sales, but Glasgow is in an even battle with Manchester and with Madison Square Gardens in New York for the remaining slots in the Top Four, all with sales just more than the million mark. There is then a big sales gap of £200,000 down to arenas in Amsterdam and Mexico City. Being the third largest concert venue in the world
is an achievement in itself. However, there is another positive consequence from the opening of the Hydro. Last year, across the wider SECC campus, SEC Ltd grew the conference business revenue by 18 per cent and the exhibition revenue by 17 per cent. It was a basic argument of the business case for building the Hydro that it would free up space
in the main exhibition halls and the results are vindicating that case. There were 16 international conferences
at the SECC, attracting more than 37,000 overseas delegates including the Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics and the European Human Genetics Conference. In 2015, according to figures from the
International Congress and Convention Association, Glasgow came 49th out of more than 400 in the global league table for international meetings. That may not sound dramatic until you realise how many cities there are across the world that are substantially bigger than Glasgow. Glasgow was generating more
international business than cities like Chicago, Hamburg and Manchester. Even more astonishingly, the city is 28th in the world for the number of delegates attracted. I well remember making the case within Scottish
Enterprise that the Hydro investment was a classic economic development project in that the benefits would stretch well beyond the revenues the SECC would secure themselves. Crudely, it was estimated that for every pound
the SECC earned, another three would be generated for businesses across the city and the wider country.
So we had expected that there would be a healthy boost to our transport companies, hotels, bars, restaurants and shops. Now, in his report, SEC Ltd chairman Will Whitehorn puts a total figure on that for 2015/16 of £411 million for Glasgow and £308 million for Scotland. These are enormous figures when you consider
that the total investment cost for the Hydro was around £125 million. And to put the SECC’s scale further into perspective, Edinburgh International Conference Centre recently reported that it would generate £50 million for its city, a highly creditable result, but only an eighth of what the SECC is doing for Glasgow. One thing we hadn’t expected
when we made the case for supporting the Hydro investment was the extent to which entrepreneurs and
investors would respond, with the result being the success of Finnieston. It certainly helps that the bridge across the Clydeside Expressway makes it easy to reach the Hydro from the district but it needed the business community to exploit the opportunity – and they most certainly did. Read more at:
www.glasgowchamberof
commerce.com/blog/2016/september/12/applause- for-the-incredible-success-of-the-secc-and-hydro/
Glasgow Business . 5
www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com Intensive employability
programme will equip school pupils with working skills p6
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS Anne Marie Hughes ~ 0141 204 8325
annemarie.hughes@glasgowchamber
ofcommerce.com
CHIEF EXECUTIVE Stuart Patrick ~ 0141 204 8317
stuart.patrick@glasgowchamber
ofcommerce.com
DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE Richard Muir ~ 0141 204 8326
richard.muir@glasgowchamber
ofcommerce.com
SENIOR DIRECTOR Alison McRae ~ 0141 204 8339
alison.mcrae@glasgowchamber
ofcommerce.com
HEAD OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Elaine Rodger ~ 0141 204 8332
elaine.rodger@glasgowchamber
ofcommerce.com
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Susan McKay ~ 0141 204 8347
susan.mckay@glasgowchamber
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BUSINESS SERVICE MANAGER Cathie McKay ~ 0141 204 8317
cathie.mckay@glasgowchamber
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FINANCE MANAGER Audrey Hamilton ~ 0141 204 8334 audrey.hamilton@glasgowchamber
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HEAD OF EVENTS Alan Busby ~ 0141 204 8323 alan.busby@glasgowchamber
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HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATION Catherine Bryson ~ 0141 204 8390
cathy.bryson@glasgowchamber
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PROGRAMME DIRECTOR DEVELOPING THE YOUNG WORKFORCE Leona Seaton ~ 0141 204 8338
leona.seaton@glasgowchamber
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INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP MANAGER DEVELOPING THE YOUNG WORKFORCE Shona MacPherson ~ 0141 204 8364
shona.macpherson@glasgowchamber
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DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE DEVELOPING THE YOUNG WORKFORCE Jennifer Hood ~ 0141 204 8333 jennifer.hood@glasgowchamber
ofcommerce.com
ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT DEVELOPING THE YOUNG WORKFORCE Nicola McGowan ~ 0141 204 8363
nicola.mcgowan@glasgowchamber
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SENIOR PROJECTS MANAGER Rebecca Ricketts ~ 0141 204 8358 rebecca.ricketts@glasgowchamber
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PROJECTS MANAGER Cheryl McCulloch ~ 0141 204 8339
cheryl.mcculloch@glasgowchamber
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EVENTS AND DIGITAL CONTENT EXECUTIVE Ross Flockhart ~ 0141 204 8319 ross.flockhart@glasgowchamber
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MEMBERSHIP EXECUTIVE Diana Peralta ~ 0141 204 8331
diana.peralta@glasgowchamber
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ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT Danielle Grant ~ 0141 204 8349
danielle.grant@glasgowchamber
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FINANCE ASSISTANT Liz Mason ~ 0141 204 8329
liz.mason@glasgowchamber
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CERTIFICATION EXECUTIVE Yasmin Akram ~ 0141 204 8330 yasmin.akram@glasgowchamber
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CERTIFICATION EXECUTIVE Lorraine Galbraith ~ 0141 204 8365
lorraine.galbraith@glasgowchamber
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CERTIFICATION EXECUTIVE Katie Anderson ~ 0141 204 8381
katie.anderson@glasgowchamber
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CERTIFICATION ASSISTANT Michael Fernie ~ 0141 204 8378 michael.fernie@glasgowchamber
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RECEPTIONISTS Dawn Chalmers (Mon-Wed) and Sandra Barrie (Thu-Fri) ~ 0141 204 2121
dawn.chalmers@glasgowchamber
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30 George Square, Glasgow G2 1EQ Tel: 0141 204 2121
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The views contained within Glasgow Business do not necessarily reflect those of Glasgow Chamber. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material contained in this publication, the publishers and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce can accept no responsibility for the claims made by contributors in either advertising or editorial content
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