Warwick Conferences has announced its new £5.3m venue on the University of Warwick campus will be known as The Slate. Following completion, the 650sqm blank canvas space will welcome its first corporate client – a financial company - in early December.

Warwick Conferences hosted a mid-launch event for its new venue on the University of Warwick campus last Friday (10th June), as it announces it has already received enquiries totalling over £4.5m for the new space.

The one day event was attended by selected clients and agents and included a hard hat tour of the venue, the opportunity to try the new food offering at the venue which champions choice and flexibility, an industry panel and a collaborative activity to create a large scale piece of art to be unveiled at the opening of the venue in the autumn.

The industry panel, which was facilitated by Triggerfish Communications MD Andrew White, focussed on Facilities vs. Experience and featured Rachael Bartlett, Head of Sales for Warwick Conferences and European President of International Association of Conference Centres, Richard Harrison, Head of Training and Conference Centres for Warwick Conferences, Leigh Cowlishaw, Director of Supplier Partnerships at Capita Travel and Events and Paul Cook, Creator of Planet Planit. The panellists discussed the shift in thinking in the conference industry with experience now coming to the fore and the need for the industry as a whole to continually adapt to meet delegate needs.

Rachael Bartlett, Head of Sales at Warwick Conferences, says: “We were delighted to welcome clients and agents to the mid-launch event for our new venue. It was fantastic to be able to share the insights behind our latest space ranging from its design to the catering to our decision not to offer packaged solutions. The venue has been developed to provide a fully flexible, blank canvas space that can be adapted in whichever way is necessary to meet the exact experience a client is looking to provide for their delegates. The intention with our new space is to give more control back to the client and let their individuality shine through.

“The response to our new venue has been phenomenal already. As it stands today, we have received enquiries equating to over £4.5m of conference and events business, which is fantastic and just goes to show the level of demand for a high capacity, high facility and flexible event space venue such as this in Central England.”

Offering 650sqm of contemporary and highly flexible event space with capacity for 350 delegates seated, the new venue is set to open this autumn and will be available on an exclusive use basis so it can be customised to meet individual needs.