ABPCO, the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers, has revealed the winners of its first ever awards at its celebratory 25^th Anniversary Gala dinner held at St Paul’s cathedral in London last night.  Sarah Storie-Pugh received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Annie Metcalfe of Leeds Met won the coveted Student Award in recognition of academic excellence.  The ABPCO ‘One to Watch, which recognises a wider contribution to the industry or innovative best practice for someone in the early years of their career, was presented to Catrina Foley of MCI Glasgow.

Each of the winners was presented with a unique glass piece created by the National Glass Centre of Sunderland, specially commissioned to commemorate these awards in celebration of ABPCO’s 25^th anniversary year.

ABPCO Chair Michael Foreman said: “I am delighted to have had the honour of presenting these first ever ABPCO awards on such a momentous occasion as our 25^th anniversary celebration.  ABPCO has always stood for excellence in conferencing and events and the winners of these awards have been recognised for outstanding contributions in their respective categories.  We received some excellent nominations for the awards and the winners should be proud of their achievement in receiving this accolade.  Well done to all!

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About ABPCO

The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) is the only UK professional body to represent the interests of individual Professional Conference Organisers (PCOs).  Established in 1981 and formally incorporated in 1987, the association’s mission is to develop and enhance the professional status of conference and event organisers and increase the recognition given to its members as the leading representatives of the profession in the British Isles.  ABPCO’s members organise an estimated 3,500 conferences and events annually and spend an estimated £58m each year on venues and suppliers.  For more information, visit www.abpco.orgor follow ABPCO on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ABPCO.

i2 Office today announced the appointment of Leigh Scott as General Manager, Sales for its new business centre at Chancery Place, Manchester.   Leigh joins the company at an exciting time as it continues to buck the economic trend and invest in creating new, high-quality centres across the country’s key business locations.

Commenting on this latest appointment, Philip Grace, CEO of i2 Office, said: “Leigh brings with him in depth local knowledge and excellent contacts across the North West business community.  I strongly believe that the combination of Leigh’s enthusiasm and the high quality accommodation and services that will be available at Chancery Place will be a real attraction for any business looking to make a base in the city.  In fact, there is already considerable interest being generated and the fit out is not yet complete.”

“I’m really excited about joining i2 Office as the company is rapidly gaining a reputation for the quality of its accommodation combined with a modern, flexible approach to meeting client requirements.  With the right product in the right place, I think 2012 could be a good year,” commented Leigh.

About i2 Office

i2 Office provides serviced offices, virtual offices, meeting rooms and disaster recovery services to companies across the UK.  Headquartered in Milton Keynes, i2 Office aims to shape the office of the future through technology.  Through its partnerships with leading IT and telecoms suppliers, the company provides cost-effective office environments, whether physical or virtual. It is also pioneering online purchase and transparent pricing for serviced office space in the UK.  i2 Office was founded by Philip Grace, a serviced office expert and successful entrepreneur with more than twelve years’ experience in the sector.  For more information, visit www.i2office.co.uk.  or connect with i2 Office on any of the following networks:

i2 Office has further extended its offer in the City of London with the announcement of a third business centre in the City at 40 Gracechurch Street, EC3.  i2 Office has taken both the ground and first floors of the building, which offer spectacular views along Gracechurch Street, with a total space of  circa 16,000 sq ft, in a deal with owners Arab Investments Ltd.  This new offer from i2 Office is located next to Monument Tube and only two minutes’ walk from Lombard Street, Bank and Cornhill. As with i2 Office Aldersgate, the building will incorporate executive lounge facilities together with accommodation for one to fifty workstations.

Philip Grace, CEO of i2 Office, commented: “Gracechurch Street will be a welcome addition to our nationwide network and further strengthens our London City offer.  We have seen high demand for our other centres in London, most recently with Aldersgate, filling up rapidly; we anticipate strong interest in Gracechurch Street.”

Khalid Affara of Arab Investments added: “We’re delighted to be working with i2 Office, who are clearly innovators in the serviced office market. Their demonstrable track record and recent success at Aldersgate will I’m sure see high occupancy at 40 Gracechurch Street very quickly. We look forward to working with i2 Office on this and at other London locations.”

i2 Office acted for themselves with Savills acting for Arab Investments Ltd.

40 Gracechurch Street is a new, high profile 122,042 sq ft office and retail development. It blends the classic sweep of a part period façade with a modern construction, providing contemporary office accommodation in the heart of the City of London.

i2 Office announces that it has reached a second deal with leading European property group IVG and plans to open its latest business centre North of London at Meridien House, which is located on Clarendon Road, Watford.  Following the company’s initial deal with IVG to take space in its No 1 Leeds property,  i2 Office has taken 13, 154sq ft in Meridien House, a Grade A newly refurbished building, located in the preferred business location for Watford and adjacent to Watford Junction Station.  Fit out of the new centre is already underway.

Philip Grace, CEO of i2 Office, said: “Watford is an important business centre for the North of London and our new business centre will be perfectly located for rail and road access.  We are pleased to be working with IVG once again and look forward to creating a successful business centre in Meridien House in 2012.”

Jones Lang LaSalle acted for i2 Office and IVG acted for themselves.

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About i2 Office

i2 Office provides serviced offices, virtual offices, meeting rooms and disaster recovery services to companies across the UK.  Headquartered in Milton Keynes, i2 Office aims to shape the office of the future through technology.  Through its partnerships with leading IT and telecoms suppliers, the company provides cost-effective office environments, whether physical or virtual. It is also pioneering online purchase and transparent pricing for serviced office space in the UK.  i2 Office was founded by Philip Grace, a serviced office expert and successful entrepreneur with more than twelve years’ experience in the sector.

Specialist UK-based marketing operations agency CRM Technologies has become the first UK headquartered firm to achieve Eloqua’s newly launched ‘Eloqua Level 1 Certified Partner’ status.  The new certification, launched in October by Eloqua, the leading provider of on-demand revenue performance management solutions, has had numerous applications and conducted more than 250 individual examinations to date.  CRM Technologies is the fourth partner to achieve accreditation globally.

Andrew Freeman, Managing Director of CRM Technologies, commented: “Eloqua has always set the highest standards when it comes to awarding certification to partners.  This new Certified Partner status sets the bar even higher and we are delighted our Eloqua practice at CRM Technologies has achieved this so quickly.  We look forward to continuing to work with Eloqua and our shared clients to deliver the highest levels of service, and to ensure they achieve optimum revenue growth.”

Amy Bill, Director, Partner and Installed Base Marketing, Eloqua, added: “CRM Technologies is a long-standing partner of Eloqua in Europe and w-e are delighted that they have embraced this new programme as it will  ensure that their team is leading the way when it comes to Eloqua standards.”

Stuart Wheldon, Senior Director, Customer Strategy and Success, Eloqua UK, said: “We have worked closely with CRM Technologies and their clients for many years in the UK.  They have continually demonstrated their expert knowledge of Eloqua and delivered the highest standards of service delivery.  We’re very pleased that CRM Technologies achieved Level 1 partner  status so quickly – well done to CRM Technologies!”

CRM Technologies will be exhibiting alongside Eloqua at TFM&A, Earl’s Court, February 28-29, stand C10.

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About CRM Technologies

CRM Technologies is a leading specialist marketing operations agency.  Established in 1999, CRM Technologies has developed particular expertise in market-leading marketing automation tools such as Eloqua and Neolane, complemented by technical expertise in CRM platforms such as Salesforce.  CRM Technologies works with blue-chip clients across the technology, publishing and healthcare sectors to deliver data-driven, marketing automation and CRM integration services with exceptional results.  For more information, visit www.crmtechnologies.com or connect with CRM Technologies on one of the following social networks:

www.twitter.com/crmtechnologies

www.facebook.com/crmtechnologies

www.linkedin.com/company/crm-technologies

As ABPCO (the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers) enters its 25^th anniversary this year, the Association reflects on how life within the meetings industry has changed over the last quarter of a century:

1987-1991

• 1987 – ABPCO is incorporated, the Apple Mac computer is launched, badge production and data capture (via embossed plastic cards) for the trade show industry are invented
• 1989 – Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web
• 1990 – Meeting Industry Association (MIA) is founded
• 1991 – National Indoor Arena (part of the NEC) opens its doors

1992-1996

• 1994 – two Stanford students create “Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web” which was soon renamed Yahoo
• 1995 – Holiday Inn provide the first hotel website with the option of booking rooms online

1997-2001

• 2000 -  The first virtual trade show, ExpoExchange, is held
• 2000 – ExCel opens
• Websites become an integral element of event marketing and communications

2002-2006

• 2002 – UK venues host an estimated 1.5 million conferences and meetings
• In 2004 Google went public
• 2005 – Conferences and meetings in the UK worth an estimated 11.7 billion per year
• E-mail marketing is a key element of event communications
• Facebook was founded in 2004

2007-2011

• 2007 – twitter was founded
• PCOs talk about going green and how to recycle at events
• Hotels interpret force majeure clauses (the ability for a group to cancel without penalty if a disaster strikes)
• 2008 – MPI publishes a Corporate Social Responsibility Survey results, part of the Green initiative
• 2010 – The Barbican joins as ABPCO’s first corporate member
• Hybrid conferences become more pronounced with companies
• 2011 – ABPCO’s Conference Cloud calling for free wi-fi for delegates launches

Today the Association is thriving, with almost 100 members who organise an estimated 3500 conferences and events a year and represent some £58 million on venues and suppliers.  ABPCO is still the only industry association to offer individual membership to conference and event organisers, which welcomes both the independent and the in-house PCO/Event Organiser.

ABPCO Chair Michael Foreman commented: ‘We have come a long way since the beginning and are proud of how the organisation has grown and the achievements that have been made.  We could not have come this far however, without our wonderful members and the commitment and support from them.

We have always been positioned as the leading UK body representing the interests of Professional Conference Organisers and our aim has been to increase the profile and recognition of professional standards in our industry.  Over the last twenty five years we have made significant progress and  have fostered professionalism across the meetings industry.’

To mark the start of ABPCO’s Silver Anniversary year, ABPCO’s annual conference will be held at The Barbican from 25-27^th January with a spectacular gala dinner to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on Thursday 26^th January.  Additional tickets have been made available to extend the event beyond those attending the conference to join in on the celebrations.

Further information about the conference is available on the ABPCO website and registration is open at http://www.shocklogic.com/abpco2012/

i2 Office announced today that it has joined the newly launched Dayoffice Card programme and will offer office space within all of its business centres on a pre-paid or pay-as-you-go basis.

The scheme provides ultimate flexibility for small businesses and sole traders to book office space from between 2 and 22 days per month, without any on-going or long-term commitment.  The purchased ‘days’ can then be redeemed at any of the 150 business centres that are included within the Dayoffice Card programme across the UK. In early 2012 this will be extended to business centres across the US and Australasia.

Centres within the Dayoffice Card programme have been carefully selected for quality and location to ensure a high standard throughout the network.

Philip Grace, CEO of i2 Office, said: “Whilst there continues to be very healthy demand for our serviced offices, we recognise that some business people prefer the ultimate flexibility of being able to take offices by the day and only when they need them.   We are delighted to be offering this service through partnering with Dayoffice Card.”

Matthew Stubbs, Managing Director of Dayoffice Card, added: “We are excited to welcome i2 Office to the Dayoffice Card programme and i2 Office’s fast growing group of business centres adds some prestigious buildings to our ever increasing network of UK locations. Thanks to their pro-active approach the i2 Office sales team found new Dayoffice Card members from day one.”

More information on the program is available at www.dayofficecard.com or by calling 0845 005 3000 (24 hours a day).

Technology focused serviced office provider i2 Office has hit 96% occupancy with its second London City business centre at 200
Aldersgate, announced at the end of August.

Space at i2 Office Aldersgate has been snapped up by a wide range of businesses, from PR firms to financial companies and telecoms specialists, keen to take advantage of the centre’s prime location and prestigious interior.

Mel Schembri, i2 Office General Manager, Sales for London, commented: “We welcomed our first client to Phase 1 of Aldersgate on September 5^th and haven’t looked back.  We have had a huge amount of interest in our offer, despite the difficult economic conditions.  These first few months have proven highly successful and we are looking forward to adding further space to the centre to accommodate growing demand.”

Andrew Barber of Revolution Public Relations, the commercial property specialist, said: “As part of our relocation we looked at a number of properties within the Square Mile, none of which we felt were really suitable or offered the value for money that we were looking for.  By chance we were introduced to i2 Office at 200 Aldersgate, and knew almost instantly that the location, cost and the management services would be perfect.  Not only is it an impressive building but it also provides easy access to our clients in the City, the City fringes and the West End.”

Adam Griffiths of international steel trading firm Stemcor added: “200 Aldersgate offices provided us with a modern and welcoming office facility that we could utilise as a short-term solution whilst our head office was being refurbished.  We were able to access the facility in a timely manner thus minimising any disruption to our project and productivity.”

i2 Office is currently in the process of building Phase 2 of its Aldersgate facility which will provide a further 61 new
workstations at the EC1 centre.  Almost one third of these new workstations have already sold and a further third are
under offer.

Philip Grace, CEO of i2 Office, added: “Aldersgate is one of our flagship centres and embodies everything that the i2 Office brand is all about; premium office space in prime locations.  The fact that the space has been taken up so quickly in the current economy reinforces our approach to providing quality space in the right location.  Mel has done an amazing job of filling the centre and we look forward to securing more new clients as Phase 2 unfolds.”

i2 Office Aldersgate is located adjacent to the stunning lounge and café area at 200 Aldersgate EC1, a Grade A building which offers excellent links to the Underground network.  St Pauls, Barbican, Farringdon and Moorgate stations are all within a 5 minute walk of the centre.   In addition, the centre boasts a 40,000 sq ft gym operated by Virgin Active, including the largest pool in the City, and extensive bike store with changing rooms, lockers and showers, providing excellent facilities for businesses looking for a base in the City.

i2 Office continues to expand its team with the appointment of Mark Gregson as General Manager for its Greenwich business centre at 6 Mitre Passage.  Mark joins i2 Office with almost a decade of experience in the serviced office sector in sales and sector specific recruitment.  Mark joins i2 Office from Regus, where he held various sales roles across the south of England over a five and a half year period, most recently as Area Manager, City.

Philip Grace, i2 Office CEO, commented: “Mark is a real asset to the i2 Office team.  With his significant experience and excellent sales track record, we are delighted that he has joined us at this exciting time in the company’s development.”

Mark Gregson added: “i2 Office is the most exciting serviced operator in the market today and I am thrilled to be coming on board this dynamic company.  There is a genuine energy amongst the team at i2 Office and with excellent locations that continue to grow, the company is clearly getting things right for its clients.  I am looking forward to developing our Greenwich centre to a thriving operation.”

i2 Office Greenwich is located within 6 Mitre Passage,  an outstanding new office building offering Grade A contemporary space in one of London’s most sustainable new developments. Greenwich Peninsula is located in Zone 2 on the Jubilee Line station at North Greenwich with direct links to Canary Wharf, London Bridge and Waterloo mainline stations and the west end. The Stratford International rail connection will also offer high-speed rail access to Europe.  In addition workers and visitors will also be able to cross the river to Excel via the innovative new cable-car planned for the peninsula or use river boats to travel from the centre of London.

i2 Office Glasgow continues to attract some of the region’s leading businesses to its new serviced office centre at 2 West Regent Street.  The latest company to take space in the centre is Informatics Clinical Information Systems Ltd.  One of the attractions for the company was the ease of access to  dedicated bandwidth and the flexibility to increase size of the bandwidth as and when required combined with a guarantee of sufficient external ports.

Phil Dickaty, General Manager at Informatics explains more about the company’s move; “Without doubt, the location is of paramount importance.   On average, our staff now save about 90 minutes per day travel time by having a city centre location.  We viewed a number of similar alternatives but i2 Office’s flexibility and particular attention to our requirements, both infrastructural and in terms of cost, were critical in our final decision.

Overall cost was comparable or even slightly more than some options,  the ‘feeling’i2 Office conveyed of understanding our needs and expectations ‘tipped the balance’.”

i2 Office’s manager Fiona Lawrence is delighted to welcome Informatics to the centre.  “The simple but flexible short term licenses negate the need for long legal debate and make the moving in processes very straightforward.  Clients are able to focus on their core business rather than worrying about their accommodation.”

About Informatics-CIS

Informatics Clinical Information Systems Ltd is an international supplier of healthcare IT solutions.  Working in close collaboration with clinicians around the world, Informatics is renowned for developing innovative software solutions, tailored exclusively for perioperative patient healthcare and delivery in hospital anaesthetics and surgical areas.