The Diversified UK team deserve to put their feet up after another busy year of trade shows and awards.
With Diversified launching its first Accountex Summit North, and announcing the launch of Organic Food Iberia/Eco Living Iberia, whilst acquiring London Design Fair and Digital Construction Week – we can leave for our Christmas breaks on a unanimous high!
Full post-show reviews can all be viewed at www.divcom.co.uk/category/press-centre, but here’s a roundup, and a few images from the year to give you an idea of what we’ve been up to:
Casual Dining – 21-22 February
200 exhibitors, 31 Keynote speakers and 4,803 unique attendees – are the top line figures from the 2018 show, which bid farewell to its Business Design Centre venue in style over 21-22 February.
Known for being a magnet for top buyers from across the casual dining sector, visitors included thousands of senior executives from all the UK’s biggest restaurant, pub and bar groups, plus the best independent operators, hotels, wholesalers, distributors, attractions, and contract caterers. Notably, nearly one in three visitors cited a corporate spend in excess of £1m (15% reported £10m-plus budgets).
Casual Dining Restaurant & Pub Awards – 21 February
The nation’s best casual dining restaurants and pubs were revealed at the Casual Dining Restaurant & Pub Awards 2018, which took place at the Marriott London Grosvenor Square, following the first day of the Casual Dining show. Living Ventures, wagamama, Bistrot Pierre, Brewhouse & Kitchen, Loungers, The Alchemist, Flat Iron, GBK, and The New World Trading Co (NWTC) were among the operators who took home awards.
Accountex Summit North – 6 March
The new event which took place at Manchester Central on 6 March 2018 follows feedback from exhibitors and accountants, who would like to see a regional event with the same high profile content as Accountex but one which is easier (more accessible) for accountants throughout the north to attend. Highlights included a top line-up of industry-renowned speakers discussing a range of specialised topics in four dedicated theatres (including the Tech Theatre, How To Theatre, Future and Growth Theatre, and the Keynote auditorium).
British Tourism & Travel Show – 21 – 22 March
Thanks to its fresh content, new show features, and quality vendors, this ‘must-attend’ event welcomed 2866 attendees, including some of the biggest tour operators, travel organisers, coach operators, and travel agents from across the UK and Ireland. From coastal retreats to country farm parks, from historic houses and villages to big city attractions, this year’s show featured 270 exhibitors and Headline Keynotes from Google and Angela Rippon. As well as this, the new Destination Europe area also proved to be a successful addition to the 2018 show.
British Coach Tourism Awards – 21 march
The prestigious awards ceremony, which took place at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham following the first day of the British Tourism & Travel Show, brought together nearly 400 industry professionals to recognise and celebrate excellence and innovation across the multi-billion-pound coach tourism sector.
Natural & Organic Products Europe – 22-23 April
The world’s appetite for natural and organic has never been bigger and it’s still growing. That’s the message from Natural & Organic Products Europe trade show, which welcomed 10,039 attendees from 91 countries to its London ExCeL venue on 22-23 April.
Those visitors included 1000s of independent stores, multiples, pharmacies, restaurants, cafés, contract caterers, hotels, salons and spas. Plus senior buyers and decision makers from some of the UK and Europe’s biggest retailers, wholesalers and distributors – including Amazon, Boots, Holland & Barrett, Aldi, Lidl, M&S, Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Debenhams, House of Fraser, Superdrug, Nisa, TK Maxx, John Lewis, and Whole Foods Market.
Accountex – 23 – 24 May
From the announcement of important company takeovers, to soaring visitor numbers and boxing glove freebies, Accountex packed a big punch in 2018. The UK’s leading exhibition for the accounting and finance profession was on record-breaking form with over 7,600 attending the show at ExCeL London on 23-24 May.
That was more than 8% up on last year’s event – and it came less than three months after the blisteringly successful launch of Accountex Summit North in Manchester.
Click here for part 2.