East Midlands' leading venue brand unveils new visual identity and major refurbishment of flagship venue Burleigh Court to kickstart new 3-year growth plan.

Imago Venues is unveiling its new brand identity at The Meetings Show and showcasing phase one completion of a major £4.5m refurbishment of Burleigh Court Conference Centre and Hotel. The Loughborough University owned venue group continues to deliver strong financial performance since the pandemic with double-digit like-for-like growth, enabling significant investment into its portfolio over the next 3-year cycle.

The new visual identity has been created to better reflect Imago’s new Vision to “create a place where people love to be”.

Head of Marketing and Brand for Imago, Rob Chamberlain, explains:

“Our purpose was to create a brand identity that better reflects our DNA as a business. We exist to facilitate people coming together to connect; to grow and flourish through face-to-face interactions and learning. That’s true of our guests and of our team. It’s about coming together and connecting as individuals and transforming into something greater, built on our key values of care and kindness. The word “Imago” actually refers to the final metamorphosis of a winged insect - the caterpillar to the butterfly, if you will.”

“Our new logo mark subtly represents 4 elements. Firstly, the four quartiles “coming together” represent connection, people, team work, and our venues. Secondly, the top part of the logo mark signifies growth, upward movement and ambition. Thirdly, the negative space represents the “butterfly”, change and transformation. And fourthly, the top half of the negative space represents care, support, nurturing, but also reflects our company vision of creating places where people love to be.”

The new brand identity is being unveiled to coincide with a major £4.5m investment into Imago’s flagship property, Burleigh Court, that will improve the guest experience and deliver a truly fantastic venue for the East Midlands.

With phase one now complete, the project significantly increases meetings and conference capacity, as well as introducing a brand-new restaurant – Fifty The Street, which will serve a plant forward concept as “50% plant powered food for all” – turning the hotel into a true 7-day operation. The previous restaurant space will become flexible conferencing and gala space with 230 cabaret capacity and the option of splitting into 4 smaller soundproofed conference spaces. Delegates will have lunch served from either Fifty The Street or the new bar and lounge area – Carney & Scott’s – named after Loughborough alumni and England Lionesses Karen Carney and Jill Scott.

Spencer Graydon, CEO of Imago Venues commented:

“We’re delighted to unveil phase one of the major transformation of Burleigh Court. Our company vision is “to create a place where people love to be” and this project delivers that in spades (pardon the pun). We have a really strong business, and this investment sets us up to deliver our next 3-year plan that focuses on 2 strategic pillars of People and Planet. It also celebrates our relationship with Loughborough University by recognising the amazing academic and sporting heritage we have.”

Phase one completed in June with full completion scheduled for August 2024 with an official opening event in September 2024.

For more information on the latest plans, visit www.imagovenues.co.uk

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Notes for editors:

• Imago Venues are Leicestershire's premier venue brand, combining year-round conference venues and hotels with Loughborough University campus facilities.
• They provide high-quality meeting spaces, venues and accommodation, along with world-leading sports and leisure facilities.
• Its portfolio includes Burleigh Court Conference Centre and Hotel, Holywell Park Conference Centre, The Link Hotel, the Elite Athlete Centre and Hotel, and Loughborough University campus.
• Multi-award winning venues including M&IT Gold for Best Academic Venue, Best UK Conference Centre, Best F&B Supplier, and Best Training Venue at the Academic Venue Awards.
• Imago Venues is a wholly owned subsidiary of Loughborough University and Gift Aids its profits to the University, contributing over £1million per year to help fund research and academic excellence on campus.
• Imago Venues is part of The 5% Club which is a movement of more than 800 employers providing 'earn and learn' opportunities to develop the skills and talents people need to become more employable and create meaningful careers.