THE BOSS of the NEC has warned of ‘economic disaster’ if government coronavirus cash is stopped this year.
Paul Thandi spoke alongside West Midlands Mayor Andy Street to plead for more time and support to save the West Midlands events sector.
He said that after providing the venue to the NHS for an emergency coronavirus field hospital, the Government has a duty to maintain crisis support.
Mr Thandi, who has led the exhibition centre for 13 years, said: “The NEC was shut on March 16 following government guidelines, that’s the first time in our 41 year history we have ever shut our venues.
“We are now a zero revenue business like all event businesses in the UK.
“By engaging with government, we have quickly developed a system that would allow us to open with a blueprint called ‘All Safe Secure.’
“We have now been given the date to open on October 1, but because that date is close we have an issue in firing up events for visitors and exhibitors. We need an element of confidence that an event will take place.”
The chief executive said it was unlikely the NEC would see any major events in the remainder of 2020, as supply chains and exhibitor confidence struggle with the pandemic.
“All events that were scheduled in March to June have been moved, but the events in the fourth quarter of the year are still looking very anaemic because exhibitors are saying its just too late.
“If the date could have been given to us sooner, we could have saved quarter four trading.
“We don’t see an indoor event or arena event taking place this year across the country, even though it was tested yesterday at the London Palladium, we see an issue of confidence in the market place.
“We will be shut until October 1. We need a follow on from furlough to take us to March 1st, at the NEC we don’t work on weekly takings like a pub, or even monthly. We invest over £19 million of capital expenditure into our business.
“We work on an annual turnover, so to protect the 800 full time jobs and the 1200 part time jobs we have in our business, we need support to take us to March.
“We are requesting a furlough extension if possible, I know the chancellor has said he won’t extend furlough but there are other interventions he can make.
“We represent 70,000 jobs in the UK, bringing 7 milliion people through our venues each year to go to entertainment events or conferences. 76 per cent of these people are from outside the region. They spend in the regional economy over £4 billion.
“That support indirectly 30,000 people in the regional economy.
“The support I am asking for furlough is to protect those jobs when our business comes back. But I do not think it will come back in 2021, it will be a tough, tough year for my business and the UK economy, but it will take us two to three years to recover from this.
“A lot of our businesses still will not be able to attract the revenue from the end of furlough in October to pay back backdated taxes – we will face an economic disaster in the region.
“There is talk of a drop in GDP of 20 per cent, I don’t even think that touches the sides.
“It is hugely important that business continue to receive support. My plea to government is to look at furlough, and those cliff-edges that businesses are facing in October and January.
“My last plea to government is to get a message of confidence out there, so businesses like ours that can trace customers, control ingress and have sanitisation can succeed.
“We came to the country’s call to build NHS Nightingale. We now have clinical grade heating and ventilation systems at the NEC.
“I ask the government to help us in our fight to recover the economy.”
