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Casual Dining show records 5% uplift in attendance

Published:  08 March, 2019

The Casual Dining show has announced that attendance were up 5% at this year’s event, marking another year of record growth.

Held at new venue ExCel, the organisers of the show said more than 5,000 attended the event held last month (27-28 of February).

A total of 220 exhibitors were present alongside 50 keynote speakers and 5,038 attendees - up 5% compared to 2018.

The increase “easily” made this year’s event the “biggest, busiest and best” yet, said event manager Eva Ellis.

“There was such a fantastic buzz from the moment doors opened, and the show just looked incredible. The feedback about the move has been incredibly positive, with the biggest buyers and operators in the country having enjoyed increased opportunities to meet with even more innovative suppliers, listen to even more great speakers and do even more business than ever before,” she said.

Exhibitors had also been “thrilled with the seniority and sheer number of relevant industry buyers that they got to meet – from multi-site restaurant, pub and bar groups, to hotels, contract caterers and the nation’s best independents”, she added.

On the back of this year’s success, Ellis said 65% of exhibitors had already rebooked for next year, with many asking to “take substantially bigger stands”.

According to the orqanisers, nearly one in three visitors cited a corporate spend in excess of £1 million (15% reported £10 million-plus budgets).