This year has been outstanding for GL events UK. We’ve partnered with some incredible events and delivered stylish, high-quality temporary infrastructure for world-renowned clients across the full spectrum of events, both in the UK and overseas. We’ve grown our business throughout 2017, and its performance has been in keeping with our long-term growth strategy; which is true of GL events Group companies throughout the world.
Here in the UK, we’ve secured even more long-term contracts with some of the best organisations in the world, including British Athletics and The Open golf tournament. We’ve further emerged as sporting event partners of choice; also enhancing our reputation for excellence on behalf of cultural, commercial and social events and exhibitions, such as Hay Festival, Imperial College London, and various shows and conferences up and down the UK.
We continued to invest in our people and products throughout 2017, enhancing our commercial, project management and support teams with new colleagues whose ambition and experience are matched by skill and backed by the stability of our well-established staff.
GL events also made two major capital expenditure investments this year, totalling nearly £1m. Our approach to investment goes beyond the routine upkeep of our event hire products. We’ve continued to add premium features and fixtures to our product range, in line with clients’ move towards increasingly luxurious installations. This allows us to pay back our clients’ long-term commitment to the business, as we channel their investment into the temporary structures, marquees, and spectator seating products installed at their events. Our expenditure is backed by investment in technology: like the RFID system we implemented this year, allowing us to produce and deploy kit with greater efficiency.
Our bespoke account management and complete, high-end event solutions are critical to GL events UK’s offering. We’re agile and dynamic in our approach to relationships, and to our clients’ evolving event needs. We’re invested in these events as partners; but we also understand that bespoke solutions are also about new product offering. Our flexibility and capabilities mean we can bring more to the party across the entire build.
The beauty of temporary structures is that they are so highly scalable and versatile. We often encourage start-up and growing events to begin with a sound, basic infrastructure and, as they grow and become more profitable, to think about increasing that space. However, at all levels, we’re noticing an increased demand for premium products, increased comfort, the best interiors, branding, and bespoke event overlay, as well as clients’ willingness to invest in the best project management. In the temporary spectator seating market, clients including Lancashire County Cricket Club are opting for the most generous seating products available, recognising that these details make a massive difference to visitors’ experience.
As 2017 draws to a close, we’re grateful to our customers for their loyalty and commitment, and for the many opportunities we’ve enjoyed to deliver and build upon our product and customer service offering. We’ll be partnering with some very large, very exciting projects into 2018 and beyond, and are already intensely focused on delivering excellence on behalf of these, and all of the events that we support. It’s our job to provide organisers with complete, creativity-enabling event solutions, and we believe that our consultative, open self-awareness has been key to GL events UK’s success throughout the year. Long may it continue – we look forward to working with you in 2018!
