Corporate Events in 2011

The corporate event year 2011 is well underway and, as each year has its own character, we can start to assess how this one is looking. We came into 2011 with concerns that The Royal Wedding and the layout of the Bank Holidays in April would put a real dampner on the early season. There was also the ongoing financial outlook - how would that effect the year? First of all March has been very strong and April is looking good too, inspite of those unusual events. The UK's consumers are certainly suffering but corporates seem to have recovered and generally they seem willing to look at entertainment rather than just events with measurable business outcomes. Consumers tend to lag behind corporates in their reactions to financial events. For most corporates the times of trouble and cutbacks are behind then and they are looking at a more positive future. This is backed up by recent surveys which have found that corporate risk appetite is on the rise again. So, it's early days but the outlook for 2011 certainly looks positive at this stage.