CCT Venues to double conference space
While many Wharf companies are tightening their belts, one conference centre at Canary Wharf is about to unveil a major expansion.
CCT Venues has been in Docklands for little more than six months but has the optimism to increase the its facilities at Marsh Wall.
While the market has proved tough for everyone, CCT managing director Caroline Bull said the demand in the training and conference sector was still strong for a variety of reasons.
She said: “For example, one of our clients, a big bank, had a floor of training rooms but they had to give it up, so they came to us.
“Another reason is it’s close to the offices so they don’t need to spend as much money to get here.
“These are difficult times and we’re aware of that, so prices have been reduced, offering very good value for money and focus remains on customer service.�
Caroline founded the company in April 2005. It now has three bases in London and around 30 staff plus agency workers employed across the sites.
CCT has been in the Wharf since July last year and despite a “challenging� start, decided to expand the centre just months later.
The new wing, which has 11 rooms and a maximum delegate capacity of 275 cost the group £500,000. It opens on February 9 and Caroline said the centre is heavily booked up over the next few weeks.
She said: “It’s always been on our mind to expand if we had the demand and then we took the decision last Autumn.
“It’s been challenging. When we opened we had a big contract with a bank on the Wharf but that was pulled after they made a lot of redundancies.
“We had a quiet summer and then it was quiet again in December. But we’ve been chipping away and there aren’t many dedicated conference centres in the area so the demand is there.�
The other dedicated conference venue in the Wharf, is De Vere at Westferry Circus, and Caroline admits the two groups have affected each other’s success to a certain extent.
However, she is confident demand will remain strong.
She said: “We believe we offer an unbeatable package of convenience, quality and value for money.
“Because of the recession the combination of these elements has become increasingly important to a growing number of companies.
“The business case for expanding the Canary Wharf site became too strong to ignore.�
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