Great news! We are shortlisted for the Worcestershire Welcome Business Tourism Award 2011

Cotswold Conference Centre have been shortlisted for the Worcestershire Welcome Business Tourism Award 2011!


The Worcestershire Welcome Awards are aimed at everyone involved in the county’s tourism industry.

Created by Destination Worcestershire the awards recognise businesses of all sizes that go the extra mile to make a stay in Worcestershire special.


The winners will be announced at the Worcestershire Welcome Awards’ Ceremony which is being held on the evening of 17th June at the opening day of the Three Counties Show 2011.


Hosted by Helen Wheels of Wyvern’s Breakfast Show, the winner of each category will receive a commemorative plaque and go forward to the national awards.


For more details about the awards visit www.visitworcestershire.org/awards.


Cotswold Conference Centre is on the Farncombe Estate in the Heart of England. It is set in 370 acres of parkland, with stunning views and a peaceful, secure environment dedicated to corporate training and team-building activities. Find out more from www.CotswoldConferenceCentre.com or call 0845 230 8580.

Graduate Recruitment Training Boost for Cotswold Conference Centre

An increase in demand for graduate recruitment-based training courses has been experienced at Cotswold Conference Centre (CCC) this autumn suggesting an upturn in this niche training market. New client Assystem UK, have taken on a record number of graduates this year and G4S Care and Justice have launched a new graduate intake programme in 2010 with the first event being held at CCC.

Ashley Clulow, Head of Human Resources at Assystem UK, praised CCC for its rural location and said visiting Directors were very impressed with the facility. Assystem UK, as a multi-site business, opted for CCC because of its location in the ‘spine of the country’ and made full use of the centre’s outdoor facilities in organising team building challenges across the lake. Mr Clulow said: “A five-star hotel would not have been applicable for our graduate training course – the learning environment would be completely wrong. The environment, given the constraints of a hotel, would not have been conducive to a training programme which at times was quite boisterous. Our team building projects would have resulted in delegates returning to bedrooms leaving trails of muddy footprints across hotel receptions whereas we could retreat back to our houses on the campus, spruce up and relax in communal areas in the evenings. CCC presented a perfect professional and business focused environment.”

Likewise, Liz Veasey of G4S said: “since this was our first graduate scheme it was important that we got their development right from the start. The unique setting of the Cotswolds Conference Centre meant that we were able to combine classroom learning with outdoor and evening events such as kayaking, treasure hunts, bowling and BBQs. Nick and the team were brilliant at arranging everything for us and it certainly got our graduates off to a flying start.”

Nick Akerman, head of sales, concurs that dedicated conference and training venues such as CCC have many advantages over hotels for training courses for graduates as they better mirror the working environment and set the new recruits off on the right foot regarding the importance of appropriate environments for learning outcomes rather than lavish surroundings and long lunches.. He said: “it’s important, especially for young graduates new to the world of work, to get the right first impression about the employers culture These days, hotels need to be all things to all men and therefore can’t guarantee a dedicated business environment throughout the stay.”

The Cotswold Conference Centre has just secured a ‘Silver’ in the Business Tourism Awards at the annual Heart of England Regional Tourism Awards and work has begun on a £3.5m new build project which will see 32 more rooms coming on stream by the end of 2011.

Despite the economic downturn, CCC has seen an increase in revenues and the facility continues to go from strength to strength under the leadership of recently appointed managing director Mark Philip-Sorensen.

Mark chose to take on the running of the Farncombe Estate which specialises in 24/7 training and learning for the corporate and leisure markets when his father, Jorgen Philip-Sorensen died earlier this year. Mark said of the decision: “we have superb facilities here and a great team of people. The environment we have in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is also complemented by the ‘can-do’ culture of our long serving staff.”

Graduate Recruitment Training Boost for Cotswold Conference Centre

Work begins on £3.5m project at Farncombe Estate

“This is the beginning of a very exciting new chapter for all of us on the

Farncombe Estate” - Mark Philip-Sørensen

Mark Philip-Sørensen



GREEN AGENDA DRIVES FARNCOMBE’S MULTI-MILLION NEW BUILD

Work began this week on the £3.5m building of a 32-bedroom facility for Cotswold Conference Centre on the Farncombe Estate. The event was marked by recently appointed Managing Director Mark Philip-Sørensen turning the first clod of earth on the 2-acre site. Farncombe Estate’s commitment to local sourcing was endorsed by the appointment of local Willersey groundwork’s firm Hemmings Services and midlands builder - Carters. Materials, wherever possible, have also been sourced locally including stone from a nearby Cotswold quarry and wood from Hillbarn Sawmills, Snowshill.

The design by Evesham based Ward and Dale Smith is that of a single story building surrounding a feature courtyard (see artwork for visual).

Mark chose to take on the running of the Farncombe Estate which specialises in 24/7 training and learning for the corporate and leisure markets when his father, Jorgen Philip-Sørensen died earlier this year. Mark said of the decision: “We have superb facilities here and a great team of people. The environment we have in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is also complemented by the ‘can-do’ culture of our long serving staff. In such a positive environment we are able to put on better and more effective courses both for business and pleasure, hence enabling clients to get a good return on their objectives. What you need for efficient learning is plenty of natural light, no distractions, fresh air and an inspiring environment. We certainly have an abundance of all these here.”

Farncombe currently holds a bronze award in the Green Tourism Business Scheme and Mark is committed to personally taking the company forward to eventually earn silver and gold standards. He said: “I’m personally committed to making Farncombe one of the greenest venues in the midlands. When it comes to sustainability, we’re using the best materials and the best technologies to make sure heat loss is reduced in this very exciting project which we’re delighted to be working on with reliable local companies”.

Despite the economic downturn, Farncombe has seen increased demand this year for the facility and has been able to both recruit new staff and commit to increasing its bedroom stock. A refurbishment programme will also see four new family suites come on line next year and with the new build, total bedrooms by the autumn 2011 will nearly double to 89.

Nick Akerman, head of sales at the facility said that 75% of business is repeat which is a testament on its own. He added: “We are always adapting and evolving in this rapidly changing commercial environment. We often refer to it as dancing with our customers – being able to move in time using the right steps with our partners. As a dedicated niche venue we are providing specialist support and services to specific industry sectors during the week and offering the perfect leisure learning environment at weekends and the facilities just keep getting better and better.”

The Cost Effective Manager - a free seminar Friday 8 October 2010

Evesham based training company Active Learning & Development are hosting a free seminar to preview a new course programme offered at Cotswold Conference Centre. "The Cost Effective Manager" will take place on Friday 8th October at Cotswold Conference Centre, Broadway.


This short interactive seminar is ideal for Directors and Managers who have a responsibility for managing and developing people to meet organisational budgets.


Nick Akerman Head of Sales


Nick Akerman, Head of Sales & Marketing at Cotswold Conference Centre explains “Attendees can expect to achieve a new understanding of how to direct, supervise and make decisions in favour of cost efficiency as well as a new look at how people can add value. The event will include practical ideas to help individuals and teams meet increasingly demanding budgets and manage time costs effectively.”


Active Learning & Development provide leadership and management training to a wide range of businesses in both the public and private sectors across the UK and Europe and will be offering a number of management training courses at the Broadway venue in 2011.


Registrations can be made via the conference centre website www.CotswoldConferenceCentre.com/CostEffectiveManager  or by contacting Rachael Buttery on 0845 230 8580 / email rachaelb@cotswoldconferencecentre.com  




Notes to Editors:
Cotswold Conference Centre (CCC) was launched in January 2001. The facilities have developed over the past 45 years from humble beginnings as the residential training school for Group 4. The centre currently has 53 well-appointed en-suite rooms from four charming locations on site, which are set within over 300 breathtaking acres of Cotswold scenery with stunning views across the Vale of Evesham. The conference centre is the perfect learning environment with a village feel and offers meeting rooms with natural daylight, equipment and support from a small, friendly team.


CCC has been recognised as an Investor in People and the team at CCC are inspected and accredited with ‘Hospitality Assured’ annually. CCC were recently recognised at the 2009 Heart of England Tourism awards winning a Silver for Customer Service and two highly commended for Sustainability and Business Tourism. They were Training Venue of the Year Finalists in 2007 and won the VisitBritain national Gold Award for Business Tourism in 2005.


Conference Centres of Excellence (CCE) is a marketing consortium for a group of business focused centres in the UK, both residential and non-residential. The group promotes the concept that dedicated venues provide an ideal environment for business meetings, conferences, team building and any other corporate event which requires a focused and non-distractive environment. Cotswold Conference Centre is proud to be the only approved member of CCE in Worcestershire or Gloucestershire

New investment announced for Cotswold Conference Centre - June 2010

The Directors of Cotswold Conference Centre have given the go-ahead this week for a £3.5M investment programme over the next 2 years to include 36 extra new bedrooms and the refurbishment of current bedroom stock in Picton House and Dales Croft. In time, there will also be a new improved Gym and other leisure facilities are planned for the future.

Nick Akerman, Head of Sales, commented: ‘If all goes to plan, by next Autumn we will have nearly doubled in size to 89 bedrooms on site. The new building will include some of the very latest sustainable building products and will be built to the highest ‘eco-spec’ possible. This is very exciting for all the staff here and clearly demonstrates the confidence the Philip-Sorensen family have in this business. The extra capacity will help us meet the growing demand for corporate training, conferences and meetings during the week and allow us to expand the Farncombe Estate programme into some new areas at the weekends.’

New investment announced for Cotswold Conference Centre June 2010

Taking team building from Conference to Canvas!

Business training venue Cotswold Conference Centre (CCC) has just launched a new ‘Confer and Camp’ package for residential delegates this summer.

Midlands venue CCC is uniquely located in 300 acres of Cotswold parkland, offering stunning views and a wide range of team building option for organisations seeking to develop and motivate their staff.

Whilst businesses might have needed to tighten their spending in recent months, training and HR personnel have already recognised the need to be ready for the upturn, and the importance of keeping their teams focussed and inspired.
CCC’s Head of Sales Nick Akerman explains “Companies that use CCC for business training continue to tell us how much their business benefits from our natural learning environment. Clients such as Balfour Beatty and Natural England return to us again and again for our dedicated focus and consistent approach with helping them get the best from their people. We feel that giving delegates the option to camp and appreciate our rural location will only enhance their team building experience. Of course, for the slightly more conventional conference we do have 53 ensuite bedrooms just in case!”

The Confer and Camp package is now available from CCC for events booked in 2010 and includes all camping equipment, indoor shower facilities and a free outdoor team building activity.

Having already achieved Bronze level, Cotswold Conference Centre and the Farncombe Estate are currently working towards a Silver award under the Green Tourism Business Scheme with a team target to achieve Gold in Olympic year 2012. CCC also received a Sustainable Tourism award at the Heart of England Excellence Awards 2009.
CCC is the only Conference Centre of Excellence in the Cotswolds and an Investor in People.
For further information about conference packages at Cotswold Conference Centre visit http://www.cotswoldconferencecentre.com/ or call 0845 230 8580.

A record 3 months for Cotswold Conference Centre, Broadway

Cotswold Conference Centre (CCC), Broadway are celebrating a record start to 2010.

Head of Sales, Nick Akerman explained: “Throughout last year we stuck to what we know we are good at, kept faith with the full-time staff, and have retained all our regular clients. In the current climate it is such good news that the corporate training world seems to be active again. New bookings have almost quadrupled compared to the same period last year and we’ve just had our busiest three months for enquiries on record. New clients have been won based on our service promise and the facilities rather than just price and, at last, quality seems to be back on the agenda.”

New clients for 2010 include a division of Balfour Beatty based in Derby who have made CCC their venue of choice for two forthcoming residential training programmes. Nick continues: “They had been looking for a new venue partner who shares their service principles and CCC was initially recommended by one of their training partners. We are looking forward to working with them later in the year.”

CCC is the only Conference Centre of Excellence in the Cotswolds and an Investor in People. For further details about Cotswold Conference Centre visit www.CotswoldConferenceCentre.com or call 0845 230 8580.

Cotswold Conference Centre, Meeting and Training Venue, Midlands

Conference Centre team tops the polls and win gold for customer satisfaction

Its official - CCC is top residential dedicated conference venue for customer service in the Midlands...
Feedback analysts, BDRC, has announced the national Venue Verdict Awards for customer service at UK hotels and meeting venues. Cotswold Conference Centre, just outside Broadway, was awarded the new Venue Verdict Gold Standard, an accolade awarded only to venues delivering the very highest level of customer service over a period of time, based on large volumes of customer feedback. In addition to Cotswold Conference Centre, 17 other venues out of over 200 participating venues were awarded the Venue Verdict Gold Standard.

Nick Akerman, Sales & Marketing Manager explains “It’s not everyday you get a Gold Award ‘out of the blue’ ! As a small niche rural training venue we try very hard to compete with the big brands. The difference here is the people. Our team really deserve this prestigious ‘pat on the back’ for their consistent high standards of service during 2009 – which was our toughest year on record."
The Business Development Research Consultants (BDRC) was founded in 1991 and is a leading full service market research agency. Cotswold Conference Centre is taking part in their monthly Venue Verdict programme which collects and analyses customer feedback independently and reports on the levels of customer satisfaction.

Midlands conference venue launches new 'coaching' areas

Cotswold Conference Centre is delighted to announce that it will shortly be launching new training rooms following the conversion of The Coach House on Farncombe Estate.

The refurbishment, due to be completed in early January 2010, will include three larger plenary rooms and several rooms nearby with informal areas for break-out sessions and syndicate work. There will also be a new coffee lounge.

Operations Manager, Richard Howdle explains: “This new addition to our facility will provide much needed room for expansion of our weekday training activity and also the weekend Farncombe Estate programme. We look forward to the exciting opportunities this expansion will bring“.

Cotswold Conference Centre gives the Whizz Kidz team a chance to get up to speed

Cotswold Conference Centre was chosen recently by London based children’s charity Whizz-Kidz as the venue to launch their new partnership with power wheelchair supplier C.F.Hewerdine Ltd. They needed a venue away from distractions that had plenty of space to test the products and provide a peaceful learning environment for the Whizz-Kidz team.

C.F. Hewerdine Ltd, who specialise in the supply and servicing of mobility products, recently won the prestigious national contract to support ‘Whizz-Kidz’ in helping children under 16 lead a more independent life. Northern Office Manager, Helen Leese from C.F. Hewerdine commented: “We needed a central location for us and the Whizz-Kidz team to come together. It was also important that the venue provided a real-life selection of environments to test the power wheelchairs. I must say the event was a huge success, the staff were great and we met all our objectives.”

CCC welcomes new Business Development Executive Jenny Poll

CCC welcomed a new member of the Sales team this month. Cheltenham-based Jennifer Poll has joined the team as Business Development Executive following her studies at the University of Gloucester in Event Marketing.

Originally from Bexhill-on-Sea on the South Coast, Jenny is now delighted to be in the Heart of England and working for the leading conference and training venue in the Midlands.
She explains “It is great to be working in Business Tourism with an award winning team. The conference and training sector of the industry is new to me but I am learning fast. I am looking forward to promoting the venue to an audience who I’m sure will appreciate the facilities and service on offer. This is such a fantastic location”.