Winning formula

As a town with less than 200,000 inhabitants, it could be easy to overlook Telford.

But this spot in the heart of the UK is captivating delegates and planners alike, earning a place alongside much bigger city destinations with its quality offering.

With nearby Ironbridge the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Telford blends some of the world’s most important heritage with natural beauty and is emerging as a powerhouse of knowledge and innovation in the fields of digital, agritech, advanced engineering, green technologies and automotive. 

Its central location, close to major road and rail links, is a major draw – as is the scale of the events and visitor experience on offer. Key to this is the busy Telford International Centre which offers over 15,000 sqm of event space for conferencing for up to 4,000 delegates, or cabaret-style for up to 2,000, as well as three huge exhibition halls.

It’s set in the purpose-built £250m Southwater, which includes restaurants, bars, hotels and even a cinema, providing more than 550 rooms within a minute’s walk of the venue (and an additional 3,000 rooms lie within a 20-minute drive).

It’s clear they have hit on a winning formula: the TIC welcomes 250,000 visitors a year and boasts an economic impact of between £50m and £100m. 90 per cent of clients would rate the centre’s facilities as 9/10 or 10/10, while 95 per cent rate its customer service at the same level – plus 100 per cent would be happy to return to the TIC in the future.

For MD Alison Griffin, keeping every service in-house means the utmost attention to detail on everything from food to security and helps to maximise benefits for both organisers and attendees.

“We are an unrivalled professional business events space,” she says. “We don’t do other types of events: we have a fantastic product which is very suitable for events for 500 delegates or more along with offering 3,500 sqm of exhibition space in each of our halls; it’s an intuitive, easy-to-walk-round building and we pride ourselves on looking after it.”

The convention centre, next to a 450-acre town park and nature reserve, has been running for 36 years and was about to hit a record trading year just as the pandemic struck. But these days business is booming once again with big wins including the 2023 English OPEN for pickleball England in August as well as ABPCO’s Festival of Learning later this month.

Set to be attended by more than 100 leading Professional Conference Organisers (PCOs) and a range of industry partners, the event will be a showcase for the TIC to prove its value. “Telford is a great location for our second Festival of Learning,” says Heather Lishman, ABPCO’s Association Director. “Its central location makes it accessible not just to all our members, who are spread the length and breadth of the UK, but also the many non-members we expect to welcome on the day.”

Looking for alternatives? Set in 200 acres of parkland, Lilleshall House is full of character; the Duke of Sutherland’s former library, Chapters, features oak-panelled walls and a feature fireplace, ideal for a boardroom meeting for up to 26. Or check out Ironbridge Gorge Museums' range of options including Enginuity, an interactive design and technology centre with capacity for 300. Fans of The Apprentice will enjoy a trip back in time to Blists Hill Victorian Town, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year; it’s a great spot for an away day for up to 1,000.

What they say

PRIMIS Live took place in March at the Telford International Centre with 1,000 delegates braving bad weather and train cancellations.

"The TIC has it all as a conference/exhibition venue: three huge halls, various sized event rooms and meeting rooms which you can adapt to suit, an abundance of natural daylight and fantastic parking facilities," says Melanie Palmer , Events Manager for PRIMIS Mortgage Network.

"The whole team went above and beyond to make our event a success and the food and service at our dinner event was amazing. And as Telford is in the Midlands, it's very central and easy to get to via motorways and trains."

The only challenge she cites was the lack of quality hotels in the near vicinity, so planners should be aware that transport will be needed: "My biggest challenge was finding enough hotel bedrooms for circa 600 guests for the evening awards dinner. This then meant our guests were at various hotels within a 10-mile radius which meant we needed to also arrange travel."

Also in March, more than 2,000 delegates headed to the TIC for The Distributed Energy Show, a B2B exhibition and conference showcasing the latest technologies of flexible and renewable onsite energy innovations, amid great relief that Covid restrictions are now lifted – and the show will be back again in 2024.

"TIC is an effortless venue to work in, with most staff and services required by us as the organiser based on-site or nearby," says Lana Mercer, Senior Marketing Manager for Event Partners Ltd.

"From an attendee perspective, it offers plentiful onsite parking, hotel in close proximity and is easily accessible by both public and private transport. The number of participants that were at the show over the two days is testament to Telford’s appeal as THE meeting place for the energy industry to come together to discuss the UK’s goals towards Net Zero and Sustainability."