Cliftons

What Cliftons does

Cliftons is a privately-held corporate events management company founded in 1997 in Sydney, Australia, operating a network of 10+ owned venues across Australia (Sydney x2, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth), New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington), Hong Kong, and Singapore, with partner-venue reach extending into London and New York. The business delivers an integrated platform of services: venue hire, end-to-end event management (including virtual, hybrid, and global event delivery), AV production, in-house catering, secure examination delivery, team building, and flexible workplace solutions. The company has executed over 500,000 events across its 27+ year history and serves a horizontal mix of enterprise, education, government, healthcare/professional examination bodies, and member-association clients including AWS, L'Oréal, Toyota Australia, Cleanaway, Compass Group, UNSW, RCPA, ANZCA, and APEC.

The operating model combines physical venue ownership with full-service event execution under a single contract, supported by enterprise-grade AV, hybrid event technology, a Cliftons Portal for online booking, and 360° virtual venue tours. Recent extensions include Cliftons Studio for broadcast and recorded content. Revenue is generated primarily through venue hire (per-event/per-day pricing with optional all-inclusive bundles), professional services fees for event management, AV, and catering, and recurring subscription-style arrangements for workplace solutions and multi-year corporate contracts.

Go-to-market is enterprise-led via direct sales and inside-sales booking channels, supplemented by event-driven presence at industry conferences (AIME, MEA, IACC study tours) and a thought-leadership series called 'Horizons.' Cliftons has been consecutively recognized by AFR BOSS Best Places to Work (2023–2025) and achieved IACC Green Star Platinum certification in 2024. CEO Vanessa Green leads the company, supported by CRO Stephen Cox, Head of Operations Michael Nicholls, and Head of People & Culture Athena Chintis. The legal entity is Clifton Operations Pty Ltd, headquartered at Level 13, 60 Margaret Street, Sydney.

Name

Cliftons

Legal name

Clifton Operations Pty Ltd

Website

https://cliftons.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cliftons is a privately-held corporate events management company operating 10+ owned venues across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore, delivering integrated venue hire, event management, AV, catering, exam solutions, and hybrid event services to enterprise, government, education, and association clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Event Management Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Audio-Visual (AV) Systems & Rentals (Audio, Video, Projection, LED Walls) (THAHAEAA), Conference & Convention Center Catering (THAHAKAB), Professional & Certification Expos Organizers (THAHABAD)

Keywords

• Corporate event management
• Venue hire services
• Conference facilities
• AV production services
• Exam venue solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Venue Hire: Rental of venue spaces for meetings, training sessions, conferences, and events. Revenue based on room capacity, duration, and event requirements.
2. Event Management Services: Full-service event planning, coordination, and delivery including project management, logistics, speaker management, and event marketing.
3. AV Production: Audio-visual equipment rental and production services including setup, technical support, and broadcast capabilities.
4. Cuisine and Catering: In-house food and beverage services including breakfast, lunch, dinners, and refreshments for event attendees.
5. Exam Solutions: Secure examination delivery services including computer-based testing, invigilation, and multi-location coordination for professional certifications.
6. Workplace Solutions: Flexible workspace and office solutions for businesses requiring temporary or permanent office space.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cliftons provides corporate event management, venue hire, in-house AV production, catering, and exam delivery through a network of owned and operated venues across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The company offers integrated end-to-end solutions including meeting rooms, conference spaces, training rooms, team building programs, workplace solutions, and a dedicated Cliftons Studio for content production.

Product overview

Cliftons is a corporate events management company operating a network of owned venues across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The offering is a platform-plus-services model combining physical venue hire with comprehensive event management capabilities. Core services include venue rental (Meeting Rooms, Conference Spaces), Event Management (including Virtual/Hybrid and Global Events), AV Production, Cuisine, Exam Solutions, Team Building, and Workplace solutions. The product portfolio centers on Venue Services and Event Management as the primary offerings, supplemented by add-on services like AV Production, Cuisine, and Team Building. Cliftons Studio provides specialized broadcast capabilities for live-streamed and pre-recorded content, while Exam Solutions addresses specialized medical and professional examination delivery requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cliftons Studio: Studio services for live-streamed events and pre-recorded content creation.
• Cliftons ESG Support Grant

Products and services

• Venue Services Hire of meeting rooms, conference spaces, training rooms, and event venues at owned locations across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore for corporate, government, and association clients.
• Event Management Full-service planning, coordination, and delivery of in-person, virtual, hybrid, and global events, including programme design, logistics, and on-site management for corporate clients.
• AV Production Enterprise-grade audio-visual production services including equipment supply, staging, live streaming, and technical support delivered as part of event execution.
• Cuisine In-house catering from coffee carts and buffet options to plated dinners, including themed menus and specialist dietary offerings such as low-FODMAP, kosher, halal, gluten-free, and vegan.
• Exam Solutions Secure, purpose-configured venues for delivering tertiary education exams and professional certification assessments, with controlled access and proctoring-friendly environments.
• Team Building Structured team engagement programmes including cooking challenges and creative workshops designed to build team dynamics for corporate groups.
• Workplaces Flexible workspace solutions including dedicated desks, private offices, coworking access, and virtual offices across the venue network, on subscription or short-term basis.
• Cliftons Studio Dedicated recording and broadcast studio for producing virtual events, webinars, and recorded content, with full technical crew support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully delivered over 500,000 events throughout company history
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Meetings & Events Australia (MEA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2025National body for event professionals. Vanessa Green serves as Chair of MEA. Cliftons participates in MEA awards, knowledge programs, and industry advocacy.
• Tailored TeambuildingcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 February 2024Teambuilding events partner for Cliftons. Partnered for live teambuilding activities at AIME 2024 exhibition booth. Joint prize packages offered combining venue hire, team building, food and beverage, and event management valued at $8,000.
• Reconciliation AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2024Endorsed Cliftons' Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Framework partner for reconciliation process supporting the national reconciliation movement.
• International Association of Conference Centres (IACC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIACC is a global association dedicated to representing the best meeting venues. Cliftons is a member of IACC and participates in study tours, hosts competitions like Copper Skillet, and adheres to IACC quality standards and code of ethics. Cliftons is the only Australian venue with IACC Green Star Platinum Certification.
• OvationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpeaker bureau partner for Cliftons Elevate hybrid speaker showcase event. Collaborated on creating a big conference impact through hybrid event format.
• PGIcoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatform provider partner for Cliftons Elevate hybrid event. Provided technology platform for seamless hybrid event delivery.
• Publishing Association of New Zealand (PANZ)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClient for annual conference delivery. PANZ pivoted to fully virtual event delivery with Cliftons support during snap lockdown.
• BEAM (Spice Magazine)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerKnowledge Program curator for AIME. Cliftons CEO participates in panel discussions at Ideas Academy presented by Spice.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Marriott International (MICE): Global hotel group with deep MICE capability across major APAC cities. Marriott's convention-focused brands (Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Renaissance) compete directly with Cliftons' owned venues for multi-city corporate programs, particularly for clients wanting consistent accommodation bundled with meeting space.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Global experience marketing and event agency operating across APAC. While GPJ focuses more on contracted event delivery for enterprise experiential campaigns than owned venues, it competes with Cliftons' end-to-end event management offering for large multinational client budgets.
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts (MICE): Global hotel operator with extensive meeting, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) capability across APAC cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland, and Singapore. Hilton competes with Cliftons for corporate conferences, training weeks, and association meetings with the advantage of integrated accommodation.

Direct peers

• ICC Sydney (International Convention Centre Sydney): Major convention centre in Sydney's Darling Harbour competing directly with Cliftons for corporate conferences, training events, and hybrid events. Both target the same enterprise and association buyers across NSW and overlap substantially on AV production and event management services.
• Encore Event Technologies (APAC): Global AV production and event technology provider operating alongside venue operators like Cliftons. Both offer enterprise-grade AV, hybrid event delivery, and broadcast studio services to corporate events, with overlapping customers and complementary rather than identical delivery models.
• Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC): Melbourne's flagship convention and exhibition venue serving corporate and association clients with large-scale events. Cliftons Melbourne sits in the same city serving overlapping corporate, association, and government customers for similar conference and meeting formats.
• Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre: Purpose-built convention centre in Christchurch, New Zealand serving corporate conferences and association events with full-service event management. Cliftons operates the only other significant owned-venue presence in NZ (Auckland and Wellington), directly competing for NZ-headquartered enterprise and association work.
• Production Audio Video (PAV): Australia-headquartered AV production and event services company serving corporate and association clients across ANZ. PAV overlaps with Cliftons' AV Production service line and competes for the same production service budgets when enterprise clients stage events at venues other than Cliftons' own.

Regional players

• Crown Melbourne: Large integrated resort and event venue in Melbourne offering corporate functions, conferences, and large-scale events. Crown competes with Cliftons' Melbourne venues for the same enterprise and association clients, particularly for events wanting hotel accommodation bundled with meeting space.
• SkyCity Auckland: Integrated entertainment and convention venue in Auckland CBD combining hotel, conference, and event facilities. It competes with Cliftons Auckland for corporate and association events requiring accommodation and event space together, though with a different entertainment-led positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cliftons_venues
• Facebookfacebook.com/CliftonsEventSolutions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cliftons
• Instagraminstagram.com/cliftons

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cliftons