Business boost for Well Met Conferencing in 2015

Well Met Conferencing reports on a successful 2015 with an increase of 18% in revenue from 2014 to 2015. Over 1,200 events took place throughout the year with a 13% overall increase in enquiries compared to 2014. Well Met Conferencing, based at Leeds Beckett University, were pleased to welcome almost 25,000 delegates through the door; success is attributed to the development and expansion of the conferencing and catering teams as well as the launch of the new brand identity. The identity has been designed to communicate Well Met�s smart approach to business - providing a flexible and friendly service that is personalised for its customers and all for a clear price. Furthermore, the addition of a new Conference Host position has allowed Well Met to tailor their service for customers which in turn has made the booking experience even smoother. Spring brought its own rewards, with Well Met racing to provide affordable accommodation for Welcome to Yorkshire�s first ever Tour de Yorkshire in May. Well Rested - Well Met�s accommodation branch, housed a high number of cycling fans and reported strong figures with 18,000 beds sold over their busy summer period. With the new menu launch towards the end of summer, Well Fed - the brand identity for Well Met�s visionary catering arm reported an additional 18% average value increase for catering enquiries. The appointment of Executive Chef, David Parker in October 2014, played an integral role in the new menu development and the attainment of this positive figure. Along with this, Well Fed welcomed Development Chef Melissa Hudson in April 2015, whose exciting contributions to the redeveloped menu include a range of healthy options without any compromise on taste. Kate Davis, Head of Business Development for Campus and Residential Services at Leeds Beckett University comments: �We anticipated 2015 would be a busy year for Well Met, with the Tour de Yorkshire and Rugby World Cup bringing a huge amount of national and international visitors to the City. We looked to capitalise on these brilliant regional events to attract new customers and we are delighted to be able to report such positive figures as we move into the New Year. Increasing the capacity for our expanding business remains a key priority and new projects are underway for us to accommodate this. We are also developing our Wedding offering this spring; opening up our historic Headingley campus as we look to welcome new audiences.� Forthcoming events for 2016 include hosting the World Challenge Conference in May, welcoming back the Teach First Summer Institute, hosting over 3,000 delegates in a two week period and holding the 2016 AGM for the Society of Radiographers in November. Leeds Beckett University is the first University venue to achieve Gold Accredited in Meetings status awarded by the Meetings Industry Association. With award-winning venues situated in urban settings and beautiful parkland, Well Met Conferencing is one of the most remarkable conference sites in the UK. Providing excellent facilities, Leeds Beckett University is the ideal setting for conferences, meetings, formal dinners and team building events. - End - For further media information please contact Sarah Benson at Bonner and Hindley on 0113 243 4713 or email Sarah@bonnerandhindley.co.uk Notes to Editors: � Well Met Conferencing is the conference office for Leeds Beckett University. � Leeds Beckett University was previously Leeds Metropolitan University. � Leeds Beckett University is the first University to achieve the Gold Accredited in Meetings status awarded by the Meetings Industry Association. In 2014, it won Gold Accreditation for the second time. � Centrally located, Leeds is just two hours 20 minutes from London by train, and just one hour on the new BA flights from Heathrow to Leeds Bradford Airport. � Leeds Beckett University accommodation Carnegie Village was awarded 3* by the AA. � At the M&IT awards 2015 Well Met was a finalist for the �Best Academic Venue� category. � Leeds Beckett University has around 32,000 students on programmes in Leeds and abroad and just over 3,100 staff. � The Vice Chancellor of Leeds Beckett University is Professor Peter Slee and the Chancellor is Sir Bob Murray CBE. � Leeds Beckett�s four faculties are: Arts, Environment and Technology, Business & Law, Health and Social Sciences, and Carnegie. � Leeds Beckett University is the only university in the UK to have achieved both the Customer Service Excellence standard, Investors in People Gold and the RoSPA Gold medal across the whole institution. � The Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE) showed that the proportion of Leeds Beckett 2012/13 graduates in work, further study or both six months after leaving university was 94.6%.