Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow, which was acquired by hotel and conference operator Principal Hayley last spring, is due to reopen in September following a £20 million refurbishment. Dating back to 1883, the hotel has hosted high profile guests such as Frank Sinatra, the Queen and Sir Winston Churchill.

Located above the city’s main train station, the hotel will offer 21 meeting rooms including the Grand Ballroom which has a capacity for 500 guests. It will also have business centre and will offer full-service production and in-house catering. There will be 240 fully refurbished bedrooms, a champagne bar, deli and restaurant.

Leanne Scobie, Sales Manager for the Grand Central Hotel, said: “When the Grand Central Hotel re-opens in 2010, it will be the stand-out venue for conferences and banqueting events in Glasgow. This is one of the most iconic buildings in the city and our refurbishment will bring it back to its glory days when it was the place to be seen.”

The hotel will be operating in soft launch phase between July to September.

imago, the conference and events business based at Loughborough University, has acquired the Compass Hotel Loughborough (formerly the Quality Hotel) and its land, approximately four acres.

The hotel is currently undergoing a £2 million refurbishment and will be renamed The Link Hotel, Loughborough. It joins the other venues within imago’s portfolio, including Burleigh Court, the international conference centre; Holywell Park, the day conference centre; plus extensive conference and sports facilities at Loughborough University.

Kay England, Chief Executive of imago, said: “We intend to manage The Link Hotel, Loughborough, as an upmarket budget hotel concentrating on excellent bedrooms and customer service in a modern and focused environment.”

The hotel will remain open during its refurbishment.

Nottinghamshire Convention Bureau has set a target of generating an extra £1 million of new business tourism within the next five years, in advance of its upcoming annual familiarisation event in March.
“The 2009 event went down a storm with the travel and hotel booking agents we hosted, with some describing it as one of the best ‘fam’ visits they had ever attended!” commented Andy Melton, Conference Tourism Coordinator. “We therefore have very high expectations this year, and as a result, are confident that the trip will assist us in reaching our £1 million target by 2015, ultimately helping Nottinghamshire become one of the first choice destinations for business tourism in the UK.”
The two day event (25th-26th March), targeting UK-based corporate and association buyers, will showcase a host of major county-wide attractions and venues, such as Nottingham Arena and Nottingham Castle.

Caterer Heathcotes Outside launched a competition in February to find the North West’s best food producers. The chance to become a supplier to ACC Liverpool is the prize on offer for the Heathcotes Food Heroes competition.
 
Gary Bates, Managing Director, Heathcotes Outside - which supplies all the catering at ACC Liverpool, said: "We already have a number of local suppliers on our books and are well aware of the quality of food that is produced in the region. Hopefully this search will help us identify more top quality items we can use in our dishes and simultaneously help us provide further support to the region's food industry – we are searching for the unusual, the forgotten and the best kept secrets.”

The judging panel, led by Paul Heathcote and Gary Bates, will review shortlisted entries at a sampling session at ACC Liverpool on 26th February.

Pavilions of Harrogate has unveiled six new meeting rooms, following extensive refurbishments over the last two years. The largest room can seat up to 50 delegates and the development has also included a refurbished reception area with enhanced business facilities. In addition, the venue’s free car parking has been extended to provide space for a further 200 cars.
Robert Whiteley, General Manager, said: "These new rooms are a fantastic addition to our facilities. They will open up opportunities in new markets for small meetings and functions and will complement the bigger conferences when used as additional breakout space.”

H&E North is the official media partner of the first Conference and Hospitality Show, which is taking place on 18th March at The Royal Armouries Hall & Saviles Hall in Leeds.
The show, a rebrand of The Northern Venue Show & The Big Wow Show, will incorporate a new layout, plus new features that will open up the event to varied markets within the conference and hospitality industries, including executive PAs, event agencies and public sector industry members.

A comprehensive guide to the event can be found inside the March issue of H&E North.