Expo 2012 dates announced

The event has been resident at Olympia 2 in Kensington for the past three years but will be making the move across town next year to ExCeL, in the heart of Docklands.

The exhibition area will increase from just over 3,000 square metres in Olympia 2 up to over 4,000 square metres in ExCeL.

The move follows a successful Mortgage Business Expo 2011 which took place last week. Some 1,991 registered individuals attended the exhibition over the course of the two days, a 2% increase on 2010.

This year’s event included over 90 exhibiting brands and the seminar theatre, with a programme put together by the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, was near capacity for all sessions.

The Financial Services Authority seminar held on Thursday afternoon was standing-room only.

James Prosser, show director at Mortgage Business Expo, said: “After a particularly successful exhibition at Olympia 2 last week we have decided to increase our exhibition area for 2012 and are therefore heading east to ExCeL in London’s Docklands.

“Following last week’s event we already have a significant number of major brands rebooking therefore we believe that 2012, much like the mortgage market in general, will see a growing market and generate greater interest.

“In order to accommodate this we need a larger centre and therefore ExCeL has been chosen to deliver this.

“In terms of last week’s event we are delighted with our attendance figures, which have improved on 2010; this is no mean feat in a static market.

“We have been receiving positive feedback from both visitors and exhibitors; so much so that we have already processed a number of bookings for 2012 with some major brands looking to go bigger and better.

“A big thank you goes to AMI for putting on a fantastic range of seminars, which were very well-attended over the course of the two days.

“We knew the FSA presentation on the second day would be popular and so it was with a crowded theatre listening intently to what the regulator had to say. Next year we will not have to drag them across London to attend as Mortgage Business Expo 2012 will be on their doorstep in East London.

“Preparations now start for both our exhibitions next year, with Manchester taking place in May and we will be at our new home in ExCeL in November.”