The latest business results released by Manchester Central revealed the venue contributed £33.6 million to the Greater Manchester economy in the first three months of the year.
The iconic city centre venue held 45 events and welcomed over 115,000 visitors between January and March 2023, up 24% on the previous quarter (October-December 2022).
Over 2,500 visitors attended the annual BSAVA Congress each day, while a further 1,000 delegates attended the North of England Dentistry Show in March. Meanwhile, the Northern Restaurant & Bar showcase welcomed over 8,700 attendees through its doors during the two-day event in celebration of the hospitality sector.
Furthermore, and despite the difficult economic conditions, spend per delegate stood at £17 on average per head, a figure which exceeded pre-Covid figures by 27%, signalling further continued recovery for the region post-pandemic.
Forecasts for the year ahead also remain strong, with more than 90 events due to take place in the 10,000-capacity Manchester venue between now and the end of the year, including the HYROX World Championships, the British Weight Lifting Open 2023, the Interflora World Cup and The Conservative Party Conference in October.
Proving its integral input into the business landscape, the venue’s wider results revealed it added over £105.3 million to the Greater Manchester economy for the financial year ending March 2023 through its events and secondary spend on hotels, hospitality and travel by attendees visiting the venue.
Shaun Hinds, CEO at Manchester Central, commented,
“These results continue to reinforce our position as the leading event venue in the North West and highlight the impact our business has on the local region.
“As I’m sure all businesses will agree, the current economic situation is one that needs careful navigation. Our energy costs alone are up 128% on pre-Covid costs, an increase which is inevitably having a huge impact on our bottom line.
“However, as these results show, our business performance is in a solid position to weather these pressures and we’ve worked hard to mitigate cost increases by working smarter, driving productivity and venue occupancy. We are continuing to see increased interest in the event sector not only from organisers who have hosted with us before but from businesses and organisations who are new to hosting events, which is very exciting.
“Our delegate numbers are also promising and prove that the wide variety of events we host continue to attract crowds in vast numbers.
“Looking forward, I’m confident that these positive results will continue – the live event experience has proved to be compelling for exhibitors and visitors alike and I’m very optimistic about our prospects for the year ahead.”
