North West events specialists Scene My Event rebrand as Exceed Events – seeing high booking demands through to 2023
The team behind North West events specialists Scene My Event have revealed a major rebrand and reposition as Exceed Events and Concepts - with bookings being made right up until 2023.
The team behind North West events specialists ‘Scene My Event’ have embarked on a major rebrand following the pandemic – repositioning the organisation as ‘Exceed Events and Concepts’.
Using the time in lockdown to evolve their offering for a changing marketplace, Bolton-based founders Chris Warbrick and Martyn Stuttard announced they’d be taking the business into a “new era” from August 12 – responding to the crisis of the events industry through innovation.
Despite the long-term restrictions imposed on mass gatherings, Chris and Martyn believe consumer confidence is now returning – with a huge number of events already being booked for the next three years.
Development has also been completed on their new website – exceedevents.co.uk – which is being used to showcase the organisation’s market-leading events technology to offer new virtual events and socially-distanced live experiences.
The domain will also house a ‘client area’ – where customers can easily manage their event, booking details and music requirements at any time.
ADVERTISEMENT
Exceed
Director Chris said: “We’ve used the time in lockdown to look at who we are as a business, our identity, our image and what our clients want, and felt that Exceed Events is a more fitting representation of who we are.
“With where we see the company growing over the next five years we wanted the brand to reflect this journey and long term position.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“The meaning of Exceed is all about going above and beyond, being better than your previous self and your competition and of course, exceeding expectations! That has always been at the core of how we operate and really fitted with who we are and can span over all of our sectors, from weddings and corporate events to event technology and bars and clubs.”
According to Chris, adapting to the “new normal” has been key to developing the new Exceed brand.
He added: “During lockdown we had the time to look at a rebrand, and we’ve been doing virtual events with live streaming and moved all of our face to face consultations to zoom consultations.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s certainly made us think differently and reimagine how events will go moving forward. Even after lockdown, the events scene will look different for some time and there will be a blend of physical and virtual events which has made us think differently and innovate in how we do that.
“We’ve invested in more technology to bring that to the client. We believe we can accommodate both sides and we’re working with our partners on things like virtual show rounds, providing as much upfront content to our clients as possible and actual virtual parties.
“At the start of August we were approached to bring our previously indoor interactive Bedlam Bingo, to the outdoor drive in Park N Party held at Event City, Trafford Park. Due to the amazing success we are now in conversations to run this continuously over the coming months.”
Exceed
Chris and Martyn said the gradual easing of restrictions saw future booking enquires pick back up in June with a surge in July and August of private and corporate clients now making reservations through to 2023.
“Our bookings are now strong again,” said Martyn.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Consumer confidence is picking back up with people wanting to get events booked back in for something to look forward to after these challenging times. We therefore believed mid August was a good time to launch our new brand – with the further easing of restrictions from August 15th onwards very much in mind.”
Founded by entrepreneurs Chris Warbrick and Martyn Stuttard in 2017, the company has become known for its industry innovations, premium entertainment offerings and investment in hi-tech events solutions.
That includes their 360 Xperience platform, used to great effect at the PFA Awards in May 2019 with the ensuing videos of football stars using the platform reaching over 5m people on social media.
Partner venues across the North West include Manchester Hall, Mitton Hall, Holmes Mill, Larkspur Lodge, Victoria Warehouse, while clients have included AO.com, Panini, Fifa, In the Style, BLVD and Manchester Airport.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CD9bnl5hHfl/
Exceed has also been the events company of choice for a host of high profile celebrities, brands and influencers.
ADVERTISEMENT
This has includeed the engagement party of Love Island star Olivia Buckland and Bradley Dack at Cloud 23 bar in Manchester, and the launch of Jacqueline Jossa’s fashion launch at In the Style in Salford.
The company has also helped to organise the wedding of TOWIE star Maria Fowler at Nunsmere Hall in Cheshire and the engagement party of Geordie Shores Holly Hagan and Jacob Blyth at Victoria Warehouse.
After winning Theo Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday award in July 2018, the events company were then brought in by the former Dragons Den star to showcase their 360 Xperience at the 10th anniversary of his SBS Awards in Birmingham in early 2020.
Find out more about how Exceed are taking events into the new normal by visiting their website.
Business
Workers at major Manchester city centre hotel to strike this bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
Workers at one of the most prominent hotels in Manchester city centre are set to strike this bank holiday weekend.
Workers at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and its bar venue The Refuge, who are members of the union Unite, will take 24 hours of strike action on Saturday (29 August) in what is said to be a ‘long-running dispute’ over union busting.
The strike day chosen by the workers is the second day of this year’s Manchester Village Pride, and is historically the most lucrative day of the year for their employer.
This is because Kimpton Clocktower is located very close to the Pride Parade route, and for several years has been a very popular location for people attending the festival, and even runs a number of Pride events itself.
Unite says that for months now, workers at the Kimpton Clocktower – which is owned by InterContinental Hotels Group UK (IHG) – have been asking for formal union recognition to improve conditions after raising several issues with management, but IHG UK has refused this and instead ‘targeted’ the union for its actions.
Workers at a major Manchester city centre hotel are set to strike this bank holiday weekend / Credit: Rebecca Hope Photography (Supplied)
Previous strikes have already taken place this summer, apparently causing ‘financial hits’ to the business in the process – with the bar being forced to close early at several events as there were not enough staff to cover them.
“A strike on Kimpton’s most profitable day is entirely of its own making,” commented Unite regional officer, Alison Treacher. “Throughout this dispute, Kimpton Clocktower management have treated its loyal workforce with contempt and our members have shown they will not stand for it.
“There is still time to avoid this highly disruptive strike action, but that relies on IHG changing tack by listening to its members and giving them the union recognition they have long been calling for.”
This dispute is said to be the first ever hospitality strike in the North West.
Unite is currently running a petition demanding that IHG UK stop targeting union activists, recognise the Kimpton workers rights to have their grievance heard collectively, and support their union recognition campaign.
Featured Image – LJK Photography (Supplied)
Business
CGIs show impressive brand-new creative workspace with ‘Northern Quarter energy’
Daisy Jackson
A new workspace and hospitality hub is set to open in the Northern Quarter this autumn – and based on the CGIs released so far, things are going to be quite impressive.
The Hive is heading to Lever Street in October, a whopping 22,000 sq ft workspace along with Dahlia, a huge new two-storey Latin BBQ restaurant.
The Hive, which comes from X+why, wants to be a workspace with real ‘Northern Quarter energy’, promising to bring people, ideas, food, music and culture together under one roof.
Based inside Grosvenor’s 47–51 Lever Street building, The Hive will offer flexible workspace, private offices and meeting spaces, but it’s the activity around them that could make the biggest mark on the neighbourhood.
A programme of talks, workshops, breakfast meet-ups, wellbeing sessions, socials and cultural collaborations will run throughout the year, bringing together Manchester’s growing mix of entrepreneurs, creatives, independents and businesses.
As well as Dahlia, which will have open-fire, Latin American-inspired cooking, a Liquorita bar, and a music-led space built around a bespoke sound system, there’s a second major food and drink opening in the works.
CGIs show impressive brand-new creative workspace with ‘Northern Quarter energy’How The Hive will look when it opens in ManchesterOffices, co-working spaces, and so much more at The HiveOffices, co-working spaces, and so much more at The Hive
The result should be a place that changes character as the day goes on – somewhere to work in the morning, grab food in the afternoon and stick around for drinks, music or an event later on.
The Hive’s interiors are being designed with the Northern Quarter in mind, using timber, reclaimed materials and work from local artists to reflect the area’s independent, industrial character.
Rupert Dean, CEO and co-founder of x+why, said: “Manchester has an extraordinary combination of creativity, ambition and community, and the Northern Quarter captures that energy better than almost anywhere else.
“The Hive is much more than a collection of offices. We are creating a place where work, hospitality, culture and community can exist together naturally, somewhere businesses can establish themselves, meet new people, share ideas and become part of the wider life of the city.
“The arrival of Dahlia and the wider food and drink offer will be an important part of that. Combined with our own programme of events and experiences, it will help The Hive feel active throughout the day and into the evening, creating a destination with a genuine relationship to the neighbourhood around it.
“Our growth journey has shown us that people want to feel connected to the places where they work and to the communities around them. The Hive gives us an opportunity to build on everything we have learned across the x+why network while creating something unmistakably rooted in Manchester.”
Fergus Evans, Office Portfolio Director at Grosvenor Property UK, said: “The Hive is a fantastic example of our regional offices strategy in practice, taking a landmark building in an exceptional location and repositioning it around the evolving needs of modern businesses and communities. Together with x+why, we’re creating a distinctive destination that builds on the energy of the Northern Quarter and supports the building’s long-term future.
“Manchester continues to perform strongly, supported by its deep talent pool, inward investment and growing digital and creative economy. Our investment in The Hive reflects sustained demand for well-located, high-quality, flexible workplaces that combine design, sustainability, hospitality and amenity.”
The Hive will open in October 2026 at 47–51 Lever Street, Manchester M1 1FN.
The Manc -
21st August 2020 
