04
September
2018
|
09:24
Europe/Amsterdam

A record £9 million of business generated by airport ‘Meet the Buyers’ event

Summary
  • London Stansted’s annual Meet the Buyers event generates record amount for local businesses
  • £22m sales generated since 2011
  • Meet the Buyers 2018 announced for 1 November 2018 at Radisson Blu Hotel, Stansted

London Stansted Airport’s annual ‘Meet the Buyers’ business event has surpassed its previous success, generating over £9.3 million in sales for businesses who attended, a 95% increase on the previous year’s event

The event welcomed 280 businesses from the East of England and London, ranging from small start-ups right through to larger companies, who attended in the hope of securing deals with nearly 50 organisations, including National Express, London Stansted Airport, Uttlesford District Council, HSS Hire, University of Essex and the NHS.

In total, since 2011 London Stansted Meet the Buyers has generated just under £22 million worth of business.

We are absolutely delighted that the London Stansted Meet the Buyers 2017 event has smashed all records and generated nearly £10 million worth of deals for businesses from across the East of England and South East.

Year after year, this event adds real value to the economy around Stansted by helping local companies win new business and we hope to again set another record at this year’s event on 1 November.
Jonathan Oates, Corporate Affairs Director at London Stansted Airport

One of the success stories from 2017’s event was DMWR, an architectural design business with offices in Manchester and London that operates across the UK.

We are experts in the aviation sector and therefore felt that the Stansted Meet the Buyer event was a natural fit for us and a great opportunity to discuss opportunities with buyers in a face-to-face environment.

We mainly attended with a view to developing new business, but it was also an excellent opportunity to raise our prominence. Having the opportunity to chat with such a captive audience would take ages to set-up ourselves, so events like this are invaluable. We have generated £50,000 worth of business so far as a direct result of the event, but there is still potentially lots more to come.
Barry Harper-Smith, Managing Director at DMWR

Feedback from other attendees praised the set-up of the event, with The Huttie Group saying it was “great to meet so many like-minded people also everyone was very helpful and keen to help.” Document Logistix said the biggest benefit was “meeting multiple buyers who are ready to buy or have a project in the planning stages” and Sword Services rated the prearranged appointments and “the possibility of adding more one to one meetings on the day.”

The 2018 London Stansted Meet the Buyers event will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel on 1 November 2018. A number of buyers have already signed up including LPL Construction, University of East London, Cambridgeshire County Council and ISS.

This year’s event will be supported by a programme of two free workshops which can be registered for online:

  • ‘Understanding Airport Procurement’: To help suppliers understand how supply chains and procurement works in and around the airport
  • ‘Pitching, Presenting & Networking’: The importance of researching customers ahead of the Meet the Buyers event and tips on securing the deal

These workshops are designed as learning tools whilst supporting local SMEs in gaining business at the Meet the Buyers event as well as to promote the benefits and opportunities available at the Meet the Buyers.

For further details visit www.stanstedmtb.co.uk.