New business for Royal Horticultural Halls

Back in March, the Royal Horticultural Halls and Conference Centre (RHH) reported a busy year ahead - and, despite a forecasted recession, business doesn't seem to be slowing down.

The Halls have many new exhibitions and events booked for 2008 and early 2009 including the Promotional Marketing Exhibition, which is moving from Olympia, I Knit Day 2008, Actor Expo '08 and the TNT Winter Travel Show.

Also new to the Halls this year is the Apprenticeship Awards, being held on 10 July in the Lawrence Hall and hosted by the Learning and Skills Council, who manage and fund apprenticeships in England.

These annual awards, now in their fifth year, recognise and reward employers who successfully use apprenticeships to improve their business performance and apprentices whose contributions in the workplace exceeds their employers' expectations or who have overcome difficulties to succeed through their apprenticeship.

Over 500 guests are expected to attend the awards, which are being produced by Shelton Fleming.

Production assistant Kim Peters said: "The Awards are growing every year and we needed a bigger location to hold this year's ceremony.

"We searched for a venue that would cater to our needs and the Lawrence Hall just made sense.

"We were especially drawn to it because it is so central and such a distinctive space.

"Both the sales and operations teams were very helpful and cooperative and were able to accommodate all our needs - we would definitely come back again".

This year will also be the first time the RHH will host the Mind Sports Olympiad, which is coming to the Conference Centre from 15 to 25 August.

Celebrating its 12th year, the Mind Sports Olympiad is a contest for "thinking" games, where competitors play a variety of well-known strategy games, such as Chess, Backgammon, Bridge, Go and Scrabble, competing for gold, silver and bronze medals.

MSO is a ten-day festival which has been described as the single greatest concentration of intellectual ability in one building anywhere in the world.

The competition's organiser, Andrew Havery, said: "It is fitting to hold our event in this prestigious and well-known central London venue.

"We have received a fine service and it is noticeable that the Halls are very accustomed to handling all types of events".

Acting managing director Maugie Lyons said: "We have a very busy year ahead and we are glad to not only to see clients returning, but also to welcome new shows and events.

"We understand that each event is different and the Halls should reflect its values and support its vision.

"We hope it's this understanding that will turn this new business into repeat business".

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