WorldEvents opens office in Switzerland
pharmafile | July 28, 2009 | News story | Business Services | WorldEvents
Event management agency WorldEvents has opened a new office in Switzerland.
It has recruited Uwe Bornemann, an experienced event professional, based in Zurich to lead the company in Switzerland and work with the agency's satellite office in Germany.
Andrew Winterburn, European development director, said: "We are extremely pleased to continue our development in Europe. Switzerland and Germany are very important markets for us so we are thrilled to establish a physical presence. Uwe is a great addition to our team and will bring a wealth of experience to WorldEvents."
Prior to joining WorldEvents, Uwe was one of the directors at the Grass Roots office in Zurich and before that he worked for Kuoni Events to develop their MICE business across Europe.
In addition to established offices in the UK and US, WorldEvents' European mainland office was set up in Amsterdam at the beginning of 2008 with a central team of 10 staff, supported by full time employees working on a satellite basis across the continent.
Business results
WorldEvents Group has also recently announced its 2008 results, which show an operating profit of £1.3 million.
Group turnover increased by 43% from £21.1m in 2007 to £30.3 million in 2008 as a result of increasing business from existing clients and global new client wins during the year.
Underlying operating profit, excluding first year investment in setting up the new Amsterdam office, increased by 30% from £1m in 2007 to £1.3m in 2008.
The company says it has reinvested its profits in developing its client services. There has been a 20% increase in staff across all offices and development of its in-house delegate management software.
WorldEvent won 11 major awards in the last 12 months including 2009 Agency of the Year at the Eventia International Awards ceremony in London.
Its other awards include IVCA LiveCom Awards – Best Internal Experience Category, EIBTM Awards – Highly Commended for Best Conference over 250 Attendees, and the coveted IMEX Commitment to the Community Award for the second consecutive year.
Commenting on the results Martin Parry, managing director, said, "We are very pleased with these numbers which have again achieved our targets and demonstrate our capacity to deliver consistent profits in a highly competitive market.
"Whilst our financial performance is a key measure of our success, the strength of the Group as a whole is reflected in the growing list of blue chip clients and the recognition through awards of the high quality events we deliver on their behalf."
