www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com 13


biggest bands and stage acts and now firmly on the international circuit. While the venues are operated by Scottish Event Campus Ltd (SECL), a private company, the main shareholder is Glasgow City Council, which has a 91 per cent stake in the business. The campus is owned partly by the company and the council. The SEC attracts about two million visitors a year attending a vast number of events. The economic benefit to Glasgow is £411 million a year in 2016, £308 million for Scotland and £240 million to the UK. In 2014/2015, the economic impact of SEC conference business alone was calculated at £137 million. According to the review, the opening of the SSE Hydro in September 2013 has “delivered incredible successes right across the business and it has highlighted the need to develop similar strategic responses in the other market sectors”. However, this is not enough. The SEC’s vision is about developing and growing the conference business throughout the next 20 years. The vision has letters of support from Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Glasgow Economic Leadership group Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Event Scotland, Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow Airport, Glasgow City Centre Retail Association, Glasgow Life, Glasgow Taxis, the Gleneagles Hotel, the Greater Glasgow Hotels Association, the Scottish Tourism Alliance and VisitScotland. “A recent research project


conducted by the SEC combined with a review of the UK and European competitor venues by the SEC executive directors in November 2014 and anecdotal feedback from clients and venue staff have highlighted the need to enhance the existing venue facilities in terms of quality, flexibility, capacities, interconnectivity and technology in order for the


SEC to remain relevant to the market and prosper in the meetings industry,” said an SEC report.


It said that while the


existing facilities have served Glasgow well they are now dated and less flexible than many competitors. “Increased competition in the UK market has been and will continue to be, the greatest threat to the SEC’s performance in this sector,” stated the report. Existing competitors outside of London included ACC Liverpool, Manchester Central, ICC Birmingham, ICC Wales, Belfast Waterfront, ICC Dublin and the AECC Aberdeen, all with major expansion programmes under way or on the cards. “Competition is fierce,


constantly evolving and on the increase. In order to maintain current levels of success and outperform our competitors, investment in the product is needed,” it added. However, it is not simply


UK competition that the SEC is bidding against. New venues including ICC Sydney, Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the Rome Convention Centre have opened, while, nearer home, a £200 million investment in Gateshead, in the north east of England, has been announced, including entertainment, conference and exhibition facilities. The SEC’s proposal is


to keep ahead of this competition and to enhance the existing campus by offering a world-class, purpose-built, multi-conference complex, with modern, flexible, compact facilities that differentiate the SEC from its competitors.


This would allow the SEC


to capitalise on the growing international associations meetings market, house smaller UK and Scottish meetings without blocking the opportunities for larger meetings and secure conference business lost because of a lack of banqueting facilities for more than 800 people. The SEC is faced with


four options: do nothing; maintain market share; go for an intermediate option or for an ambitious one. The ambitious scenario is the preferred option and involves a proposal with development costs of around £150 million, pared


back from an initial budget cost of £200-240 million. The SEC has been building a business plan for this new development, looking at construction costs with a likely building programme of five years, needed to avoid impacting existing business in the Campus. Keppie Design, Gardiner & Theobald and ARUP have all been consulted about the feasibility of the £150 million scheme. “When The SSE


Hydro was built, live Entertainment and Commercial sectors were the main beneficiaries. The expansion business plan will in the main benefit Conferences and Exhibitions through the ability to co-host more events, attract larger conferences, increase the number of exhibitions and expand the size of some existing exhibitions.” Glasgow Chamber of


Commerce backs these plans and sees them as a vital component for Glasgow’s future.


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