Adnec helps ExCel become England’s top exhibition venue

London’s ExCel centre recorded a 22 per cent in the number of exhibitions hosted last year, helped by the backing of its owner Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).

The centre hosted 134 exhibitions during 2013, up from 110 in2012, said Jeremy Rees, the centre’s executive director.

The World Travel Market and the DSCI defence exhibition were the most well attended trade shows of the year, with 50,000 and 32,000 attendees respectively.

January’s London Boat Show was the most well attended consumer event, with more than 93,000 people attending.

The number of exhibitions held in ExCel has nearly doubled between 2008-2013, while the number of conferences and other events increased by 48 per cent over the same period, said Kevin Murphy, the centre’s chairman.

Adnec has subsequently ploughed Dh900 million into the venue in the form of a new international convention centre, inaugurated in 2010.

The new facility has helped ExCel to overtake the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham as England’s most popular exhibition venue.

The venue’s position in London is set to strengthen further in the coming year, with the anticipated closure of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre later this year or early 2015.

ExCel’s valuation increased to Dh2.67 billion at the end of 2012, up from Dh1.9bn when Adnec acquired the centre in 2008.

The valuation is forecast to stand at Dh2.89bn for last month, an increase of 52 per cent on its acquisition value.

Return on equity on the investment has averaged 11.2 per cent over the five-year period, and 16.7 per cent since the recovery from the recession began in 2011, said ExCel’s chief financial officer Phil Dowson.

ExCel’s direct and indirect contribution to London’s economy is estimated to have reached £2.81bn (Dh16.86bn) to the United Kingdom since its acquisition by Adnec, said Mr Murphy.

This figure is forecast to rise to £5.5bn by the end of 2017.

ExCel contributed 31,062 London jobs last year, a figure that is forecast to rise to 53,886 by the end of 2017.