Chelsea Flower Show is billed
as the ultimate event in the gardening year.
But many of the visitors are more likely to be found clinching
business deals than holding forth on the merits of ornamental
onions.
The show, held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, has
become one of the City's premier networking events.
FTSE 100 executives, private equity gurus, central bankers
and former prime ministers turned out en masse on Monday
night for the show's gala preview.
"People want new and different things. Big sporting
events tend to be a big day out for the boys," said
Miriam Staley of Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, which paid
at least £500,000 to sponsor the gala preview.
"The City audience is now changing. There's many more
female executives and, of course, it's always been popular
with the wives.
Talking shop
Chelsea has long been the launchpad for the summer season
with socialites then moving on to Royal Ascot races, Wimbledon
tennis and a night at the opera in the country at Glyndebourne.
But since 2001 when Merrill Lynch became the first big financial
services firm to sponsor the show, it has become the preserve
of corporate Britain's great and good as well as the bankers
and accountants eager for their business.
Bank of England governor Mervyn King, M&S chairman Stuart
Rose, former prime minister John Major and Martin Clarke
of private equity group Permira were among those spotted
sipping champagne and smelling Chelsea's roses.
"No-one turns down a ticket for Monday night at Chelsea,"
said one executive accompanying the chairman of a UK bank.
Although wives chided their husbands for talking shop, conversations
centred on depressed share prices and what the chances were
of a recession this year.
Chelsea's appeal lies in its proximity to London's financial
district as well as the power of corporate wives, who prefer
flowers to rugby or Formula 1.
Big business
The credit crunch and economic slowdown has done little
to dull Chelsea's allure in the world of corporate hospitality.
Stephen Bennett, the Royal Horticultural Society shows director,
said corporate tickets for the 2009 gala preview, which
went on sale at the end of last year, were already sold
out.
The RHS sells around 1,500 tickets to around 20 companies
who then invite their own guests.
"Not one single corporate client has withdrawn their
interest," he said.
"The top of the range events are still holding firm." |
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