England Lionesses Karen Carney OBE and Jill Scott MBE got the celebrations underway at the official relaunch of the newly refurbished Burleigh Court.

Loughborough University's event venue brand, Imago Venues, recently undertook a major £4.5m refurbishment of their flagship 4-star Burleigh Court Hotel and Conference Centre and celebrated the official relaunch with a distinguished lineup of guests, including University alumnae and former England Lioness legendary footballers, Karen Carney OBE and Jill Scott MBE.

The evening brought together contractors, suppliers, clients, partners, event agents and key University stakeholders in an evening of celebration to mark the completion of the refurbishment which elevates the venue to one of the East Midlands' leading event spaces.

The works have seen the addition of new meeting facilities including a brand-new conferencing space with 280 capacity (cabaret) which increases the total number of meeting and event spaces to 26. 

It also sees the addition of a brand new restaurant called Fifty The Street which showcases Imago's sustainability commitment by offering a 50% plant-forward menu that celebrates plants over animal protein. The menus are made from apple skins in a pioneering new manufacturing process that turns the skins into a leather-like material and also uses recovered plastic waste from the ocean. The construction also uses reclaimed burnt larch wood and old scaffolding boards, as well as carpets made from recycled plastic bottles.

The new bar has been named Carney & Scott's after Karen Carney and Jill Scott who were both present to conduct interviews and officially open the new stylish bar area. Both former Lioness footballers are alumni of the university and trained at the university's world-leading sports facilities before going on to represent their country at the highest level. Karen Carney has also recently been appointed by the university as one of their strategic ambassadors for women's sport.

The evening was also a fundraising event for Imago Venues' nominated charity partner, Rainbows Hospice who raised over £3,500 through the sales of raffle tickets, donations, and the purchase of "bow bears". Rainbows is the only children's hospice in the East Midlands caring for the families of terminally ill children with life-limiting diseases. Imago partnered with the charity at the unanimous decision of their entire team and has pledged to raise a minimum of £100,000 over five years.

Spencer Graydon, Chief Executive of Imago Venues, commented:

"Our company vision is 'to create a place where people love to be'. That simple statement means we have to deliver genuine hospitality every day to our guests and this refurbishment means we have some truly world-class facilities for guests to enjoy. It was great that we also acquired two new team members, Jill Scott and Karen Carney, who did their best to pull pints and shake cocktails! But more importantly, I received feedback this morning saying that the most important thing - and something that is often missed - is the smiles on the faces of the entire team throughout, which led that guest to leave with a smile on their face and a positive start to their day. That's what 'a place where people love to be' looks like, so a massive, massive thank you to the entire team."

Photo credit: Hollis Photography UK, hollisphotography.uk

• Imago Venues is 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.