Category Archives: Events

Cheltenham Festival 2019

We were thrilled to support The Festival presented by Magners at Cheltenham for the 15th consecutive year. Guests at The Festival will join a quarter of a million others to catch the highlight of the Jump race season and enjoy undoubtedly one of the most popular racing events in the UK calendar, between March 12th and 15th 2019.

Arena’s triple-deck structure, the longest in the world at 180m long, was the focal point of The Festival, housing a sumptuous smorgasbord of course-side hospitality. The phenomenal structure will accommodate more than 25,000 hospitality guests across the four days.

The interiors, also delivered by Arena, have surpassed expectations this year. Customers had a fantastic choice of a variety of luxurious settings and stunning environments to suit every budget.

Arena also installed 1,000 Clearview, tiered, terraced seats in the Guinness Stand and 1,000 seats in the Best Mate Stand and the Head on Stand, ensuring festival goers don’t comprise on comfort when viewing the thrilling racing. Several viewing platforms and crucially, standby cover during the event complete the Arena seating offering.

Well Dressed Tables, Arena’s furniture hire and catering equipment hire company supplied over 15,000 covers of catering equipment across the site using some more quirky pieces for Chez Roux, Theatre Restaurant, Bentley and the new Horse & Groom Pub. This included new bespoke Marble plates, coloured Highgate water glasses and our eclectic range of gold cutlery.

Christopher Piggott, Managing Director of Well Dressed Tables, explains:

‘’We’re delighted to have supplied The Festival with a vast range of catering equipment and furniture across the site with a key focus on the Tented Village. Significant investment was made into bespoke new ranges including new furniture and bespoke pieces of catering equipment. Our team has done a fantastic job working together to deliver my favourite Cheltenham Festival of the last few years, many of the new areas have been real show stoppers’’.

Arena’s furniture hire specialists, Spaceworks provided a wide range of furniture across multiple areas of The Festival site, including The Jockey Club Chalet, Final Fence Restaurant, Chez Roux Boxes and the new Horse & Groom Pub. The array of furniture supplied from the company’s extensive inventory included Oak Cross Back Chairs and matching bespoke made Wooden Dining Tables, Spectra Dining Chairs, new Blenheim Soft Furnishings and more.experiences offered to VIP guests are truly memorable.

Our Fresh Approach To Brexit

With news that the government is considering stocking up on processed foods ‘just in case’ we crash out, we’re ready with over 200 cold rooms and dry stores available to hire with minimal notice to help you keep foods fresh and stored in the appropriate environment.

In the UK we only produce about half of what we eat and around 40% of our fresh produce comes from the EU. Key facts we may never have realised before now. Stockpiling may be the only sensible thing left to do!

The food industry including our contract caterers, event caterers and our favourite retailers are highly dependent on high quality European produce so don’t let your consumers be without their favourite spices, fresh fruit and veg, olive oils and more, the list is endless along with key medical supplies. It’s not just our retailers and favourite foodie establishments, it’s our pharmaceuticals too. Anything that puts a barrier in the flow of the distribution, could potentially increase costs and reduce the freshness of our much loved fresh produce. The vast amount of produce we bring into the UK requires temperature controlled storage.

With the impact of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit looming, why not be prepared with a contingency plan with a simple storage solution such as a temporary cold room or dry store, available for short term and long term hires. We have a 24 hour emergency call out team available and have multiple depots to service the UK’s requirements often within a matter of hours. Our largest cold rooms and dry stores can hold up to 30 pallets.

 

Don’t have a meltdown, contact us today to discuss our cold store solutions. You can reach us on 020 8545 6000 or drop us a line at sales@welldressedtables.co.uk

 

Arena Acquires Ice House Rentals Ltd

The largest UK event supplier, Arena, expands its product portfolio with the acquisition of specialist cold room business, Ice House Rentals Ltd.

Event supplier, Arena, has bought long-established providers of temporary cold rooms, Ice House Rentals Ltd. This latest acquisition will see the cold room specialist company be integrated into Arena’s current furniture and tableware business, Well Dressed Tables.

 

Arena UK & Europe CEO, Grahame Muir, states:

“Much like our recent acquisition of furniture specialist hire company, GLD, the acquisition of Ice House Rentals Ltd is set to significantly strengthen our offering to existing clients as well as attracting new clients to Arena’s services. Ice House Rentals Ltd has in excess of 215 cold rooms and like Arena has supplied some of the most prestigious events, such as their work in supplying over 90 cold rooms to Royal Ascot. As a leader in the events market, we hope this acquisition will further solidify Arena’s position as the business that can provide the highest quality turnkey service to those who choose to use us.”

Christopher Piggott, Managing Director of Well Dressed Tables, explains:

“This is a fantastic acquisition for the division. The ethos of quality, service and reliability, which is driven by the directors of Ice House Rentals Ltd, complements the values and standards of Arena. For Well Dressed Tables, as a division, this develops the portfolio of products that we can now offer our clients, making us truly a ‘one stop’ supplier.”

Ice House Rentals Ltd will continue to be based at its Hook facility, in Hampshire.

Tom Scott, Ice House Rentals Ltd Managing Director states:

“Joining Arena provides us with a real sense of pride.  To become part of a public company is a validation of the work we have done, providing security of supply for our clients well into the next decade. We look forward to growing our business within the Arena umbrella.”

Arena Group expands portfolio with acquisition of GLD Productions

Arena Group has expanded its product portfolio with the acquisition of specialist furniture hire business GLD Productions.

The largest UK owned event production supplier, Arena, has bought GLD Productions Ltd with all stock and staff being incorporated into the Group’s Spaceworks Furniture Hire division.

Grahame Muir, CEO Arena Group UK & Europe, said: “Since our 2017 stock market flotation we have been looking to strengthen our offering to clients, which this acquisition certainly will. The addition of new products, a very experienced and talented team will all help deliver the growth we believe is possible within this sector.

“Our ability to continue supporting the live music sector remains a very important cornerstone of this business unit going forward.  We are delighted with this outcome and the opportunity to widen our offering within the live events marketplace.”

GLD’s staff and stock will be located at Arena’s Membury facility, complimenting and bolstering the capability of Spacework’s Furniture Hire within the Group under Managing Director, Chris Piggott. Dave Withey, Arena UK & Europe Sales Director, will assist in the development of GLD’s music and touring business.

Graeme Dixon, GLD Managing Director states:

“We are delighted to join the Arena Group.  To become part of a public company is a validation of the work we have done, providing security of supply for our clients well into the next decade and we look forward to growing our business within the Arena Group umbrella.”

 

 

Well Dressed Tables U.S.A

We’re excited to announce that Arena Americas have recently launched Well Dressed Tables in the U.S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s an exciting new development for the Arena Group launching Well Dressed Tables within the Arena Americas division. For your next event in the U.S contact the team by clicking here.

#globaleventsdesignedanddelivered

 

146th Open at Royal Birkdale

Record breaking crowds benefited from the temporary infrastructure at The Open 2017, delivered by four divisions of Arena UK & Europe: Arena Structures, Spaceworks, Well Dressed Tables and Arena RIM Scaffolding between July 19th and 23rd, 2017.

 

The attendance at The 146th Open surpassed the 230,000 mark set at Royal Liverpool in 2006, making it the largest-ever Championship held in England and reflected a 17% increase since The Open last visited Royal Birkdale in 2008. Record advance ticket sales made it the fastest-selling Championship in history and the fans were thrilled by a final day that resulted in Jordan Spieth lifting the coveted Claret Jug.

It wasn’t only the volume of people that tested the 26,000 sqm of on-course facilities provided by Arena Structures, the weather that added teeth to the links course from the players’ perspective ranged from gorgeous sunshine to torrential downpours with thunder and lightning and winds off the sea.

Huge demand for The Open’s official hospitality offering led to all six packages selling out, from our triple deck Patron’s Club which hosted the main brand partners to the Champions Club, running alongside bespoke HSBC and Mastercard structures and the impressive retail outlet housed in Arena’s flagship I-Novation temporary building.

 

At the other end of the installation Arena’s creative fit out teams transformed the temporary structures interiors into a variety of environments to suit the multiple requirements depending on usage and the brand occupying the space. Spaceworks and Well Dressed Tables,  supplied expansive ranges of event furniture.

We look forward to the 147th Open taking place at Carnoustie (15th-22nd July 2018).

Wimbledon Championships 2017

Arena UK & Europe returned to Wimbledon supplying the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) with a wide range of temporary event for a thrilling fortnight of Championship tennis, July 3rd to 16th, 2017.

The event infrastructure specialist called upon the expertise of its in-house specialist divisions to supply a range of equipment including tiered seating, hospitality structures, interior design and event furnishings throughout the prestigious grounds. Spectators this year witnessed surprising early exits from Nadal, Murray and Djokovic before a triumphant Federer lifted the Championship trophy for a record 8th time.

Arena Structures provided all 21 temporary hospitality chalets throughout the grounds, 450sqm of player’s premium gymnasium space, commentary boxes, an official’s changing and rest area, autograph tents and merchandise kiosks. New for 2017 were sponsor enhancements alongside the Bank of England entrance ways and constructed a new 525sqm Qualifying Tent and Player’s Gym.

The Arena Seating team was once again entrusted to install 1,065 clearview™ seats, offering fans optimum views of the outside tennis action on Court 12. An additional 2,063 tip-up seats were installed throughout the sporting venue, including a tiered grandstand at the top of the famous Henman Hill. The team also installed a viewing platform and additional staircase up into Centre Court.

Arena UK & Europe’s sister event furnishings divisions Spaceworks and Well Dressed Tables supplied 33,311 items to the hospitality areas throughout the venue, including 29,837 items of cutlery and crockery in addition to 3,474 items of contemporary furniture.

Henley Royal Regatta and Henley Festival

Arena UK & Europe, part of Arena Group, enjoys a longstanding relationship with the event organisers of Henley Royal Regatta and Henley Festival, providing a wealth of event infrastructure across the prestigious site on the banks of the River Thames.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arena Structures, Arena Seating, Well Dressed Tables and Spaceworks all supported the 34th Henley Festival which saw headliners Pet Shop Boys, Chaka Khan, Jess Glynne, All Saints and Mel C play to thousands of fans over the course of five evenings.

Arena Seating  provided a total of 4,617 seats across the high-end contemporary arts and music festival, with 2,816 flat tip-up seats installed in front of the main ‘Floating Stage’. A further 2,419 seats provided unrivalled views of the on-stage action from a tiered covered grandstand, which included 14 removable seats for wheelchair users.

Arena Structures constructed 65 temporary structures at Henley this year for both the Regatta and Festival, including a double decker Boatman Tent which was complete with a spectator balcony.

A total of 13,810sqm of temporary structures were installed throughout the two Henley events, which welcomed a combined total of a third of a million guests, including a double deck press tent, Bridge Bar and Bridge Bar extension, a Champagne bar, Fawley Grandstand and Regatta Enclosure, a police tent, Rowing Museum and lunchtime ticket sales area.

Spaceworks and Well Dressed Tables, supplied the fine-dining Riverside Restaurant and St James Restaurant, the latter restaurant new for 2017, supporting the event caterers with a range of crockery, cutlery and glassware.

 

 

Cheltenham Festival 2017

Arena Group once again supplied event infrastructure to the world-famous Cheltenham Festival, which attracted around 250,000 visitors, March 14-17, 2017.

 

The Jockey Club’s world-renowned race meeting saw five Arena UK and Europe companies work in tandem to deliver over 20,000 sqm of VIP level facilities overlooking the racecourse, including the World’s longest temporary triple deck structure.

Arena Group UK & Europe CEO Grahame Muir states:

“In the first year of our new three year multi-venue Jockey Club contract, we were keener than ever to deliver an even higher level of finish than last year. I am incredibly proud of what our teams delivered and it was pleasing to see all divisions having a part of play.

“Significant investment was made into even more of our cantilevered balconies, providing unencumbered views and increasing valuable hospitality floor space. Additionally a new staircase design was introduced.”

Arena RIM Scaffolding were first on site, with project coordinator Darren Simpson bringing their event engineering expertise to install the all important sub-structures, which involved more than 400 tonnes of scaffolding material, and create level, solid foundations across the undulating course for the Structures team to build on.

Arena Structures Ben Sly project managed the 13 week installation of 20,000sqm of temporary event environments. Over 190 linear metres of triple decked private suites and exclusive restaurants are provided for Jockeyclub clients and guests.

The structures incorporated kitchen, bathroom and rear access facilities on all levels, along with Tote betting booths, phone charge points and cash machines.

Arena’s bespoke Moet & Chandon Champagne covered bar and mezzanine was a constantly popular facility throughout the Festival.

Spaceworks provided 5,000 dining chairs and 500 banqueting tables, set up throughout Arena’s facility. In addition, Well Dressed Tables provided 10,000 covers including crockery, cutlery and glassware across all hospitality areas on the site.

Arena Seating provided its award winning Clearview seating product along with terracing within the Guinness stand, providing fantastic views across the finishing line.

 

 

 

Arena Group Saddles Up With The Jockey Club

Arena Group has secured a new three-year contract with The Jockey Club, to supply temporary event infrastructure to a number of the UK’s most esteemed racecourses, October 2016.

Building on a relationship dating back over 26 years with The Jockey Club, Arena Group has been awarded a three year contract to supply Cheltenham, Aintree, Epsom Downs and Newmarket racecourses with temporary structures, interior design , furniture and tableware, spectator seating and scaffolding to the most notable dates in the equestrian calendar.

Ian Sidgwick, Group Purchasing Director, The Jockey Club, said: “Arena Group has worked closely with Jockey Club Racecourses over several years, advising on and delivering temporary environments.  They support us in continuously raising the bar with new ideas to get the best value from our budgets, with flexibility to change their infrastructure to best suit our needs. I’m confident they will continue to help us exceed the hospitality expectations of both our brand sponsors and event guests alike.”

The contract provides additional scope and  comes after a record year including Arena Structures installing the largest triple deck hospitality temporary structure in the world totalling 125m long and spanning 12,400sqm, along the home straight at The Festival – Jump Racing’s equivalent of the Olympics, staged at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Arena Group also proved pivotal in supporting The Jockey Club’s transformation of this year’s Grand National at Aintree Racecourse, with the installation of more than 7,750sqm of temporary structures complete with bespoke interior fit out, and more than 5,000 tiered grandstand seats offering prime visibility for the revered racing. Arena Group will be the exclusive provider at this event.

Grahame Muir, CEO Arena UK & Europe commented: “We are delighted to announce the further extension of our already excellent relationship with Jockey Club racecourses over the next three years. At Arena Group we pride ourselves with delivering temporary infrastructure of the highest standard to the most prestigious sporting venues and events in the UK, and this contract win is testament to the value, forward-thinking innovation and expertise we bring to clients. We look forward to further pushing the boundaries of customer experience with improved facilities, technology and bespoke design.”