Event Organiser Profile, The Ultimate Experience

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

Mike Kershaw of The Ultimate Experience tells Annica Svensson how a passion for sports helped shape his career

Watching Mike Kershaw talk about a party, his eyes wide with excitement, gestures growing animated as he starts to recall the finer details of the evening, it’s hard to imagine this man ever being anything other than an event organiser. But Mike actually started out in law. ‘My father was a judge and there was always that pressure to carry on the family tradition,’ he explains, admitting that he soon realised legal-land wasn’t for him. ‘I wanted to do something I was really passionate about and I’ve always been interested in sports, so I ended up moving into hospitality sales.’

It was after five years in this new career, at a rugby game, that Mike came to meet his future business partner, Guy Rodger. ‘He’d bought some tickets from me and we got talking. It turned out we had both just started our own businesses and, as he was doing mainly Christmas parties and my sports hospitality events were mostly in the summer, we thought it would be a good idea to do something together.’ The two set up shop in a pokey little office in Battersea and the rest, as they say, is history.

Thirteen years on, The Ultimate Experience is one of the UK’s leading party-planning companies and an integral part of the £15m+ turnover Concerto Group, which also includes the event management companies Business Pursuits (where Guy is now managing director) and Concerto:live, the production business Core Creative, Create caterer, Venueseekers and marquee company Witney UK. So how did they make it all happen? ‘I think we’ve been successful because we were right there at the beginning with the creation of what we like to call value propositions for Christmas events – taking a venue, filling it with people and letting everyone share the cost,’ says Mike.

This approach has indeed proved a particular strength and to call The Ultimate Experience’s themed packages popular would be a major understatement. Last Decemebr, the company entertained over 70,000 guests at 180 parties in 10 different venues, making it the number-one Christmas organiser in London. But the festive season isn’t everything to Mike and his team, who are busy with bespoke events throughout the year, as well as their reknowned Taxi Treasure Hunts – one of Mike’s brightest ideas to date.

‘A lot of companies want to do something for their staff, but once they’ve been go-carting and clay pigeon shooting, there didn’t use to be much left to do. So, when a company approached me to come up with something new, I ended up designing a treasure hunt using London black cabs,’ he explains, adding proudly: ‘I’ve never had so much praise for an event. They booked another one straightaway and I thought “hey, I can market this”. We now do about 50 a year and have held them in Paris, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon and Athens, not forgetting Bournemouth and Brighton. One big global bank liked it so much it has even had us run them in Bali, Bangkok and Hong Kong.’

Another key to Ultimate’s success is that it has always realised the importance of great venues. ‘We don’t just rent places for a period of time – we’re in there, promoting the venue and helping it grow,’ asserts Mike, who very early on started associating his company with the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), organising marquee events on its fantastic lawns at the heart of the City. In 1995, The Ultimate Experience won the exclusive contract to hold events there, much to Mike’s delight. ‘It gave us a flagship venue and helped us make the leap into much larger events,’ he says.

Despite fierce competition in the large party venue market, The Ultimate Experience enjoyed enviable client loyalty during its eight-year tenure at the HAC. ‘The repeat business was amazing. Twelve large companies have done more than four big events each at the HAC. They used to tell us “we’ll move when you get us somewhere to move to” and, having finished at the HAC last Christmas, it’s great to now have somewhere else rather special to offer,’ says Mike. He moves on to talk about his company’s new partner venue, Old Billingsgate Market, where he is planning a 10-day run of ‘Summer on the River’ at the end of June and ‘Aqua’ Christmas parties throughout December.

The place joins a portfolio of venues that also includes Ultimate’s very own site, The Bridge SE1, which since opening a couple of years ago has given the company yet another competitive edge. ‘It allows us to look imaginatively at pricing,’ says Mike. ‘If The Ultimate Experience organises a party at The Bridge SE1 with production by Core and catering from Create, no one can beat us for value because we own all the elements of the event. These days, you have to be flexible, offering better rates at certain times and for certain events regardless of your list price.’

He adds: ‘It’s not just tremendous value but it’s sensible in terms of operations, too. Because we work with other Concerto companies all the time, we know that everything will run smoothly – it’s like the right hand knowing what the left hand is doing.’

That said, an organisation is never better than the people it employs and it is perhaps the fun-loving enthusiasm Mike shares with his colleagues that best defines The Ultimate Experience. ‘We’re a sociable company and we only hire people who like to party,’ he says, who can’t see himself tiring of the industry anytime soon. ‘I’m now knocking on 20 years in the business and I still love it,’ he enthuses.

As a result, Mike takes a very hands-on approach to event management and likes nothing more than to get stuck in and join the party. Ultimate’s very first Christmas season in Conway Hall, for instance, saw the man himself hosting ‘Wild West’ parties dressed up as General Custer, greeting guests in a thick American drawl. ‘It was fantastic,’ he recalls, slipping back into character as he talks cowboy outfits, square dancing and tequila slammers.

No matter how fond the memories, Mike is the first to admit that his company’s early events left a little to be desired. ‘In our first marquee at the HAC we had no lining, no floors and no loos. If you compare that to what we did in the same grounds last Christmas, you can’t deny we’ve come a long way,’ he says, referring to the spectacular ‘Heroes’ nights The Ultimate Experience staged there in December 2003. ‘The place looked great and we threw some fantastic parties. One night, we had Blue, Liberty X and the cast of Rat Pack playing on stage and I just thought “wow”. It made me proud to be able to leave the HAC on such a high.’

Not that Kershaw is prepared to sit back and rest on his laurels. Judging by the enthusiasm with which he speaks about plans for his company’s new contract at Old Billingsgate Market, we’re guessing this year’s guests will be in for a real treat. Surprisingly, the happily married father of three also finds time to coach junior rugby and play more than the odd round of highly proficient golf – and, just like his day job, we guess that’s all for the love of the game.

From Square Meal The Magazine, Spring Issue 2004