New University of Leicester conference venue College Court has secured £1m in business and received more than 100 reservation requests ahead of its opening in October. The Grade II listed buildings, located near Queen’s Road, had been out of use for seven years.
College Court is a £14m project designed to turn the Grade II listed College Hall buildings on Knighton Road into a leading residential conference venue. Christmas parties, anniversaries, corporate events and four weddings are already booked in, beginning 1 October.
Events are in the calendar up to August 2015. Several of the pre-booked events will take the centre to its 160-person capacity, with all 123 bedrooms in use.
The development will update the existing College Hall site, originally designed by Sir Leslie Martin and Trevor Dannatt in the 1960s.
Guests will be able to stay in bedrooms with balconies overlooking the venue’s elegant courtyards and the University’s Attenborough Arboretum.
The development will also house 19 conference rooms, a 200-seat restaurant, bar, games room and business lounge.
Steve Crawford, College Court Conference Centre Director, said: “To have in excess of £1m of business in the pipeline more than three months before opening is a clear endorsement of the quality people are seeing in College Court. It also shows the confidence our customers have that the College Court team will look after their business.”
Charlotte Sanders, Business Development Manager, said: “We have secured bookings that have previously held conferences in other UK cities such as Birmingham, Nottingham and York. This is extremely positive – not just for College Court, but also for the city of Leicester.”
Photo credit: Artist’s impression of the new College Court development courtesy of University of Leicester and Associated Architects.
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