Posts in category: Corporate Events

Lucy Claire Events announces a strategic expansion into high-end corporate programming, with a renewed focus on founders’ retreats, awards dinners, conferences, summits, and company incentives. This marks a new phase for the business, building on its reputation for seamless delivery and unforgettable experiences.

From discreet leadership gatherings to large-scale summits, Lucy Claire Events brings clarity, creativity and precision to every brief. Recent projects include multi-day retreats in Europe, gala dinners for global firms, and bespoke offsite experiences designed to inspire, connect and celebrate.

With a trusted network of international suppliers and exclusive venues, the team delivers events that are both logistically sound and emotionally resonant. Services include venue finding to full event management, including concept design, guest communications, transport coordination and budget oversight—always tailored to the client’s brand, audience and goals.

Founder Lucy Claire commented: “We’re seeing a shift in how businesses invest in their people and partners. Whether it’s a strategic retreat or a celebration of achievement, our role is to make it effortless, elegant and impactful.”

The launch of this new corporate offering coincides with the unveiling of Lucy Claire Events redesigned website, created in partnership with All Things Web. The site showcases recent projects, outlines services and reflects the agency’s commitment to excellence across UK, USA and European markets.

Photo credit: Valentina Fraccaroli

For press enquiries, please contact: Kathryn Allison IPR Communications kathryn@iprcommunications.co.uk

I was recently tasked with organising an awards ceremony for a client which I am very happy to say went brilliantly! Although an event, an awards ceremony is a whole different world, so there was a lot (and I mean a lot!) of planning in order to make it truly memorable (for all the right reasons!) for the attendees.

Award ceremonies are a big deal. It offers a chance to celebrate individual success, team wins, hard work and can be an emotional affair, especially after the last few years we’ve had.

A lot more businesses and entrepreneurs are entering awards, and many are hosting their own – here are a few of my top tips on how to make your awards ceremony stand out:

• What is your why? By this, I mean what are your objectives for hosting an award ceremony? Is it an internal thank you and celebration or a bigger affair? What is the message you are trying to convey by hosting it? What do you want people to experience and feel? Give this a good deal of thinking time as if you get this right, the rest will smoothly follow.

• Once you have decided on what the awards are going to be and why, it’s time to get planning. First thing first – the venue. This sets the tone for the whole event. Depending on the size of the event, you need to get sorted with a venue as soon as possible as, understandably, all the great ones go quickly. If this is a new world to you, it really is worth investing in a venue finding service for this stage as they will have knowledge and access to the best venues in line with your needs – perhaps I can help you with this?

• Venue considerations. Things to think about: location – is it easy to get to? Is there parking or public transport options? Accessibility – does it tick all the accessibility needs? Sustainability – ask for their credentials before you book and check they are aligned with yours.

• Set-up. Another big factor to consider is what you need in set up. For example, is there a stage there or do you need to build one? What is the AV set up – do you need external support? Is there in-house catering or do you need an external supplier?

• Never forget budget. When planning, it can be easy to let costs escalate (especially when there are additional requirements) so make sure you are strict on budget and on top of all costs throughout the process.

• Theme of event. When you are happy with the venue, it’s time to get the creative juices flowing and think of a theme. This could be personal to the client, seasonal or a general theme. This theme can leave a lasting impression – from the invitations to the menu, marketing collateral, décor and style of awards as well as the marketing before and throughout.

• Don’t forget lighting. Lighting can completely change the look, feel and atmosphere of a room so choose carefully and consider the wider context of your event. If the room has natural daylight, this may cause challenges with a lighting scheme during light summer evenings. Try and weave it into your theme where possible!

• A charismatic host. This is crucial – if you have a boring host, you’ll have a boring event so think wisely about who this is. The head of the company might be in charge, but can they carry a whole event? Look at the external opportunities of who could really bring it to life.

Always remember your awards ceremony is a big investment and should be an authentic, inclusive celebration of talent.

The Dazzle is in the Detail!

Consider how to make the event inclusive for everyone and hold their attention – plus ones, suppliers, clients, prospects or press

• Leave a lasting impression with memorable touches like personalised gifts or sustainable goody bags, brilliant entertainment, amazing catering (with all dietary requirements covered), and excellent service
• Your ultimate goal is to ensure that every person in the room leaves with the warm glow of having been part of a fantastic, unique, and celebratory event.

If you need any help organising your awards event, I would love to hear from you – please do get in touch!

As I have spoken about before, there is a definite upsurge in people wanting to host off-site experiences for their teams, whether that be a strategy day, a team building day, an activity day or a mixture of all.

I have been charged with organising a number of these in the past year and I have to say the hybrid mix of work, activities and R&R are definitely the winners. I wanted to share my top tips for hosting a team off-site, if you are thinking about it.

What’s the point?

Before you start planning the nitty gritty, do spend some time thinking about why you are hosting the off-site in the first place. Is it a reward to your team or is to educate, review or plan, or is it a bit of everything? Knowing your why and the objectives of the experience will lead the shaping of it.

Set a budget

As we all know, events can escalate quickly in terms of financial commitment, so ensure you set a budget early-doors and commit to how much you want to invest in this. Perhaps you could think about cost per attendee and work it out that way.

How do you want people to feel?

This is always a question I ask my clients as it is important to know their perceived outcome and want for their attendees. Are they wanting them to be wowed, inspired, educated, thanked, treated, or a bit of everything? A lot of the people I work with are very much wanting to reward their teams for all their hard work during difficult times.

What’s your desired ratio of experience?

As you start planning, do have a think about how much time you want your attendees to spend on the learning part or the adventure part or the relaxing part, if you are having a mix. For example, would you host sessions in the day and then reward with an activity and dinner in the evening, or perhaps you would pare down the business stuff and focus more on the activities in the day in terms of team building? This is very much a business-by-business decision in terms of objectives for the event.

Go deep with the detail

As the saying goes, the devil is in the detail and this is so true for off-sites. What would make your team members really feel treated – is there something personal to them that you could include? Could you incorporate a surprise or something to give them a memorable wow factor perhaps? Ideas include awards, gifts, special guests or a surprise activity / experience.

Be mindful of mixing

If you are thinking of doing a team off-site overnight then do me mindful of people’s space – always give them their own rooms (you’d be surprised how many brands bunk people up together!), allow them free time to spend as they wish and where you can, make things optional. There is nothing worse than being made to feel you need to take part when you really don’t want to.  Your team will so appreciate this extra layer of care.

Pic: Charingworth Manor 

I recently worked with the wonderful Sammy Daniels, the Operations Manager at Connect Ventures on a trip to San Sebastián for 16 people. It was an utter pleasure to partner with Sammy and she has kindly talked to me about why San Sebastián is so special and why it’s the perfect location for a company event.

Did you know San Sebastián beforehand?

I’d actually never been physically, but I had co-ordinated an event there from the UK before, so I knew how special it is.

What was the remit for the 10-year anniversary event? 

We wanted good food, wine, activities in a beautiful location in an exceptional venue and San Sebastián was the first place I thought of. It offers so much, and you can enjoy it in so many different ways.

Can you tell us about the trip and why it was such a success? 

Absolutely – I can take you through some of the highlights of our itinerary and hopefully this can help other people who are looking to go!

We landed and had a very relaxed first evening. We easily found a table for 16 of us and we enjoyed pintxos and wine. They are so affordable and delicious, and it gives you a real sense of the authenticity of San Sebastián and what it’s all about.

The next day, we went surfing on Zurriola Beach with Pukas Surf School. There were two instructors for 9 of us and they were fantastic – they took us to a safe place away from the big waves where we could learn and practice. After that, we did a pintxos tour of the Old Town. This is something I curated from research online. I built a list of the best places and what their signature dish was, and we split into two groups and went around and enjoyed the delicacies! We met up at La Vina for their famous cheesecake which was just delicious and a great way to spend a few hours!

We then enjoyed a bit of down time and in the evening headed to the incredible Kokotxa, a beautiful Michelin star restaurant where we enjoyed a 15-course tasting menu which was incredible. We were in there for hours, but everyone loved it and it wasn’t crazy money either – 120euros plus drinks each.

The next day was fab – we hiked for two hours from San Sebastián to the lovely fisherman’s village, Pasajes, and enjoyed a fish lunch and got a taxi back. This is a great thing to do if staying in San Sebastián as the mountain walk was beautiful and it’s great you’re only a 10-minute taxi ride away to get back so you can enjoy some wine with lunch! Then we enjoyed a steak dinner that evening!

Sounds incredible – lots of food!

So much food but that is what San Sebastián is about and all of it is so delicious. It is also so varied, and you can really do as much or as little as you like.

How did you find organising it all?

Well, you were a great help! You saved us so much time with your venue sourcing, answering all our questions and being so professional with all your contacts. The hotel we stayed at (Hotel Villa Favorita) were so brilliant too – especially their concierge team as really nothing was too much trouble.

Would you go back to San Sebastián?

Absolutely. It is such a hidden gem and perfect for company events or just a fabulous holiday! And we went in May which was so great as just out of peak season. People are really craving experiences and it is the most brilliant setting.

This year, I have definitely seen a rise in team activities and companies wanting to reward their team through shared experiences. Good leaders reward the people around them and with many people still feeling the impact of lockdown, it is not lost on many lead teams that their employees have perhaps been through the wringer.

It seems that leaders are being more insightful in their rewards and instead of a little bit more in the pay packet (which, I’m sure it still very welcomed!), they are instead wanting to offer an experience they can share together that they will all benefit from.

High on many of my clients’ agenda is wellness and wellbeing and saying thank you by looking after their staff in this way. I have many people ask me for a really special location that is in nature, beautiful and will offer rest and respite for the people that have worked so hard.

And I am more than happy to help as there are some incredible venues in the UK offering the perfect get away from the day-to-day. I recently hosted a group of eight at the stunning Lakes By Yoo which was the perfect backdrop for them to connect and relax. It feels that the days of renting an off-site meeting room with rubbish coffee and a white board are behind us (thankfully!) and leaders are wanting to reward and inspire their staff – with fantastic results.

It’s not rocket science that by doing this, leaders are cementing a great sense of respect and good will among their employees. Being thankful and appreciative goes such a long way and this in turn will create a sense of loyalty and desire to work hard so by offering a stunning location as an away day or a weekend can work wonders.

A few of the activities that I have helped organise for clients that have been really successful include:

• Cycling – a team cycled from Windsor to Oxford and then Henley to Oxford.
• Wild swimming – this is so popular at the moment and the people who attended the experience at Wasing Park loved their swimming followed by sauna.
• Yoga – great for mental health and wellbeing and an activity people can do together. We also offered candle lit yoga at one retreat which was so magical.
• Exercise classes – again, a great way to get in the right frame of mind for the day ahead.

These are just a few examples, but I love working with clients to find their niche and what they love. I mean a good walk and talk in nature is one of the best things anyone can do!

Retaining and rewarding great people is imperative to business success and this should always be high of leaders’ agendas as by being in-tune with this will pay off in dividends. If you would like to arrange a special experience for your team, we would love to help you and have a big contact book of some really special locations so please do get in touch!

Being a great leader has evolved and changed considerably as the physical space has been removed. This has seen good leaders adapting their style, fully understanding their audiences and embracing the new way of working. 

This is not easy, and unfortunately a number of leaders have fallen by the wayside as they have kept on leading like they always have, failing to connect with their workforce and identifying what their needs and expectations are. These leaders’ shift has been virtual only and their demands, methods, output and expectations have not changed, meaning that they have lost sight of their employees and, in turn, have suffered because of that. 

But I am very happy to say, there are a lot of leaders out there who are not like the aforementioned and have altered their leadership styles for the world we are now living in and a big part of this is looking after those in their charge. 

As you know, we have been running a number of virtual events over lockdown. These are great fun, fantastic ways to let off some steam and get people together – but they are also so much more than that. 

These events are a sign of great leadership. The managers, leaders, CEOs that have come to me asking to work with us on delivering an event for their staff have one vital thing in common – they understand and are aware of their employees’ welfare. To me, this depicts innovative leadership as even though, on the surface, they are just organising a fun get-together, what they are really doing is showing their teams they are grateful, they care and that they are appreciated. 

This is a hugely powerful subliminal message to give, as allowing a platform for camaraderie, teamwork and togetherness where the ‘leader’ is not in their traditional leadership role and is at times vulnerable and on par to their team members shows someone who is confident in their role and who understands their team and its needs.  Humility and vulnerability are definitely powerful traits in leaders, especially at the moment.  

I say this a lot, but the power of events is huge and even though in-person events cannot happen at the moment, there is still so much you can do virtually. So, if you are a leader or a manager and have a team working for you, do have a think about events and how you can reward your team in this way.  

As event professionals, we ensure that your event is personal to your team and that the added touches make it hugely memorable. The corporate events we have already done, I am thrilled to say, have received some fantastic testimonials and many repeat bookings so if you are looking for a way to show your leadership and to thank your team, we’d love to hear from you. 

I truly believe that you’re only as good as how happy your last client is so at Lucy Claire Events, we talk to our clients a lot to help us learn, improve and grow. We had a chat with the lovely Jennifer (formerly of Slalom), who we have been working with over the last couple of years about what it is like to work with Lucy Claire Events [LCE].  

In what capacity does LCE help with the events at Slalom? 

LCE assists us with the venue finding for our events. The planning team in the company figure out the type of event they would like to host, and then these requirements are given to LCE in a brief, to incorporate into their venue search. This process has had a massive impact on the planning for all our events as we are exposed to such a variety of locations and venues to choose from every time. The line of communication is always open, and any changes that need to be made are done so with ease. Lucy links you with the right people at the venue and checks in regularly throughout the process to make sure everything is going to plan. It is these little personal touches that sets LCE apart and why we continue to use them. 

 What were the deciding factors when choosing Lucy Claire Events for your venue finding? 

Lucy Claire Events is a trustworthy company that provides a high-quality service each time. The response time from receiving the criteria to having the options available is super quick and concise. Lucy is always available to answer any questions and lends a helping hand from beginning to end.  

How do you choose the location or venue for an event?  

The process of choosing a location or venue for our events starts with the event criteria for us at Slalom or that of our client. It must fit with the budget provided along with the values of the company, and whether they would prefer a larger more corporate space, or a more intimate setting. If the company is based in the city centre travel also plays a big role in choosing where the venue will be.  

How does LCE bring value to this process? 

Lucy is a brilliant creative collaborator in finding the right place and brings a great feeling of support. Our team can come along to view the venues and ask the right questions to ensure all requirements will be met for the event.  

What are the first steps you take in planning an event? 

Deciding on the theme of the event is very important. Once you know what you want the event to look like and feel, it helps when finding a space to host it 

What are your most common requirements for corporate events? 

Using a venue that allows for interaction is very important! Much of the time at corporate events, the purpose is to network and have our attendees become more familiar with each other. Using a venue that is comfortable yet provides some form of entertainment is vital. Lucy always provides us with a great variety of interactive venue ideas that that have subsequently delivered us some fabulous events. 

How do you create a fun, enjoyable atmosphere throughout the event? 

In my experience creating this environment starts with the intention. When planning, your intention is to have an event that will bring people closer together and provide an experience. Throughout the event itself this intention is very much at the core, therefore dealing with issues or last–minute changes with a level head is very important. 

What skills do you use most when planning and running an event? 

Clear thinking, motivation, organisation and creativity are the key skills required. 

What has been the best event you have planned at Slalom? 

During the summer of 2019 we planned a company retreat to The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales. Consisting of 220 employees travelling from London via various forms of transport and arriving on different days, we needed a venue that had the capacity to host everyone and provide a variety of on-site activities to entertain guests. LCE’s assistance in sourcing this venue was immense, and it matched all of our requirements. We couldn’t have done it without her expertise and venue knowledge. We were able to offer a variety of activities to guests, including outdoor picnics, golf, archery, laser tag and spa treatments, which were hugely appreciated. The event had many elements, but with a great planning team everything ran very smoothly, and the weekend was a great success.  

What attributes does Lucy have and bring to her work that you and your company have found so easy to work with, and why do you continue to use her for your venue findings? 

Lucy can connect her clients to a range of venues depending on the unique requirements that are being asked, even with varying locations. This is a huge help in providing variety and different experiences to guests at every event. The venues are great quality and professional, which fits with the corporate atmosphere. The line of communication is always open with Lucy for any questions or concerns and creates the feeling of support. Planning an event always feels like a collaboration. It is due to this that I would recommend any company planning an event to work with Lucy Claire Events.  

‘I worked with Lucy on numerous corporate events over the last two years and her help has made each one of them a great success. The client’s requirements are always met and the variety available is fantastic. Lucy creates a stress free, supportive relationship which makes all the difference when handling large events. Thank you Lucy!‘