Minutes:
The Managing Director presented the Shareholders’ Committee with an overview of how the Company was performing in relation to the strategic goals which the Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Ltd. had to deliver on by 2020/2021. She highlighted to the Committee that, although this was only Quarter 1, that the review of business performance against the indicators, as well as an analysis of actual performance against the budget, was positive.
The Director of Sales and Marketing advised the Committee of the sales forecast. She pointed out that the sales pipeline for conference and entertainment hire was strong, that the Company was on track to achieve the key conference win targets and that the Belfast Waterfront had exceeded the targets for Quarter 1. She assured the Members that the smaller number of contracts which had been signed for 2018–2021 was not a cause for concern as conferences were signing contracts later than usual. The Committee was advised that the feedback from those organisations which had held major events in the Belfast Waterfront so far had been overwhelmingly positive.
The Managing Director outlined the challenges which the Company was currently facing and the steps which were being taken to address them. The main issues were:
· an urgent need to implement the Venue Events Management System (VEMS);
· the need to make headway with improved taxi pick-up and drop-off points at the Belfast Waterfront; and
· the fact that the Liquor Licensing laws in Northern Ireland were impacting upon the venues’ ability to provide the requisite services to certain clients.
A number of Members expressed concern regarding the Liquor Licensing legislation which was restricting the services that the venues could provide and asked whether a short-term licence could be obtained for the upcoming BBC Good Food Show. The Director of Sales and Marketing advised the Committee that the legislation provided that off-licence sales in Northern Ireland had to be demarcated with entrance and exit barriers, amongst other restrictions, and that it did not look likely that anything could be done in time for the BBC event on 14th – 16th October, 2016.
The Business Support Director advised the Committee that the maximum potential occupancy rate for the Ulster Hall was 91 days and that this was due to the Ulster Orchestra (UO) having largely booked the space for rehearsal time. It was pointed out to the Members that in peak months, such as May 2016, the orchestra had taken 45% of the bookable days.
During discussion, a Member asked whether consideration had been given to asking the Ulster Orchestra if they would move their rehearsal slots to ‘off-peak’ times, perhaps in exchange for a lesser rent. The Managing Director advised the Members that discussions were ongoing with representatives from the orchestra and that the Committee would be updated on any progress made.
The Committee was advised that a draft Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy was currently being prepared and that it would be presented to the Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Board in November, 2016. It was also highlighted to the Members that the Company had already implemented a discounted venue hire for eligible groups and that it was also exploring opportunities with the University of Ulster to offer apprenticeships to students in building management, facilities/technical management and events management.
In response to a Member’s question regarding the implications of Brexit, the Managing Director stated that she felt it was too early to tell and the Interim Managing Director added that he had had discussions with Legal Services in relation to the ‘clawback’ element of the funding if the specified targets were not met for the Belfast Waterfront and that an update would be brought to a future meeting on that.
The Committee noted the contents of the report.