ARENA 6 | Hospitality CHRISTMAS Today EVENT | Christmas 2016 / January 2017
Kevin Watson,
MD of Amadeus
The Arena 2016 calendar of events reached its finale at The Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel on Monday 5th December. An upbeat atmosphere surrounded The Arena Christmas Event, which welcomed over 150 foodservice and hospitality professionals for a day of insight, food and wine, and the opportunity to connect with industry colleagues and friends.
That morning, Peter Backman, MD of Horizons, gave a presentation on foodservice trends( see p14).
With plenty of food for thought, attendees continued the debate throughout the drinks reception, where they also had the opportunity to sample canapés courtesy of Invest Northern Ireland and its chosen suppliers, and into the ballroom where executive chef Simon Young and his brigade served three-course lunch matched with fine wines by Matthew Clark.
Kevin Watson, the Managing Director of Amadeus, entertained and inspired the audience with a post-lunch address that gave a real insight into the five-year evolution of Amadeus since he joined the business- growing from a publicly-owned £ 25m business into a now privatelyowned £ 43m business with a 208 % growth in profit.
Amadeus is part of the NEC group, which just two years ago was owned by Birmingham City Council. 99 % of revenues