Minutes:
The Managing Director of the Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Ltd (BWUH Ltd.) provided the Committee with an overview of the Company’s performance during July, August and September 2016, and an overview of the year to date performance for the financial year 2016/17. The Committee was advised of the Sales performance and the Managing Director illustrated the position in terms of the actual figures and the budgeted figures. She highlighted that, while there was a small overspend of £8,000 at this point, she was confident that the figures would be on course by the end of the year.
She advised the Committee that revenue had been much higher than planned for in the year to date. The Members were advised, however, that while revenue had been higher than expected, a number of variable overhead costs had also been higher, particularly security and casual labour, and due to the fixed cost nature, many of the overheads were in line with the budget.
The Managing Director advised the Committee that interest in the new Belfast Waterfront venue had remained strong and that the economic impact on the City and the region, as a result of the re-investment in the venue, had generated substantial extra business that Belfast would previously have been unable to host. She advised the Members that the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) targets had been exceeded, with 24 conferences in the top six categories confirmed and that it had been estimated that those conferences would result in 44,000 delegate days. The Committee was advised that, by the end of the second Quarter, 15 conferences would have been delivered, resulting in an economic impact for the City of £9.5million. The Managing Director highlighted that local restaurants and golf courses had benefitted greatly from a number of large conferences which had recently been held here.
In response to a Member’s question regarding evidence of increased bed nights as a result of major conferences taking place in the Belfast Waterfront, the Managing Director confirmed that the Chief Executive was discussing the mechanism with which to report these figures with Visit Belfast, and that she hoped that these figures would be included in future performance reports to the Committee.
The Managing Director highlighted that BWUH Ltd. was on course to meet its sales targets for 2016 and 2017, and that a current challenge was to meet the 2018 targets.
The Managing Director provided the Committee with an update on the Ulster Hall occupancy rates, and advised that attaining the target of 136 days was a challenge which the Company was working on. The Members were advised that the Company was looking at ways which in which BWUH Ltd. could maximise additional catering spend during Ulster Orchestra events.
The Members were advised that, in relation to surveying Customer Satisfaction, anecdotal feedback had been very positive to date and that a Venue Events Management System (VEMS) would be introduced from November 2016.
During discussion, the Managing Director confirmed that BWUH Ltd. was exploring opportunities with the Ulster University to determine apprenticeships in building management, facilities/technical management and event management and that it expected to have one opportunity established by the end of Quarter 3.
In response to a Member’s question in relation to ensuring that the technology in the Belfast Waterfront was up-to-date, the Managing Director confirmed that assessments were ongoing to determine whether renting or buying new equipment was the best value for money option, given that it was high cost and needed to be updated frequently.
The Managing Director advised the Committee that a draft Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy would be presented to the BWUH Board for its approval in December. She informed the Committee that the Strategy would cover a range of areas, including employability, apprenticeships and the Company’s commitment to its role as a ‘good neighbour’. She also confirmed that the Business Plan would be presented to the Shareholders’ Committee at its meeting on 12th January, 2017.
The Committee noted the contents of the report.