Fresh questions have been raised about support for the UK’s business events sector after London & Partners confirmed it is making savings that will result in reduced activity and changes to team structures.
The move follows closely behind the recent restructuring of VisitBritain’s business events team resulting in job cuts and the removal of ringfenced funding for its Business Events Growth Programme (BEGP), prompting questions about whether the UK is sending the wrong message to international event organisers at a time when global competition is intensifying.
London & Partners, which oversees the London Convention Bureau and is primarily funded by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority, said the changes are being made as it enters the second year of a new three-year strategy launched in autumn 2025.
“In Autumn 2025, London & Partners launched a new three-year strategy to deliver greater long-term impact for London, and we have made strong progress over the past year,” the organisation said in a statement.
“As we enter the second year of the strategy, while we have seen increased income in some areas, changes to our funding and delivery requirements mean we need to make savings across London & Partners, including some reductions to activity and changes to team structures and roles.
“Our priority in making these savings will be to prioritise the areas most important to London’s long-term growth, our partners and future sustainability. We are also continuing to invest in technology transformation to improve efficiency and impact over the medium term.”
The news comes just weeks after industry leaders warned that cuts to VisitBritain’s business events programme risk undermining the UK’s competitiveness in the global meetings market.
Trade bodies including UKEVENTS and the Tourism Alliance have argued that the decision to remove dedicated funding from the BEGP is particularly difficult to justify given the programme’s reported 35:1 return on investment. Since 2018, it has supported 167 international events across 18 UK cities, generating more than £60 million in direct economic return from less than £1.8 million of public funding.
The latest developments come against a backdrop of strong performance for both London and the wider UK meetings industry. Last month, London was named Cvent’s top European meeting destination for the fourth consecutive year, while recent industry research showed the UK meetings sector generated £22.5 billion in direct expenditure in 2024 as event volumes surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
However, industry leaders have repeatedly warned that international competitors are moving in the opposite direction. Australia has extended its Business Events Bid Fund through to 2032, Canada has increased support for the sector following industry lobbying, while destinations including Singapore and the UAE continue to invest heavily in attracting international meetings and conferences.
While London & Partners has not announced the scale of the activity reductions, the timing is likely to raise further questions about whether the UK is doing enough to support one of its highest-value visitor economy sectors at a time when demand for international business events remains strong.