The ICC Birmingham
The ICC Birmingham is a purpose-built convention centre in Birmingham, UK, hosting ~400 events and 350,000+ delegates annually across 10 halls. It serves corporate, association, and government clients with integrated venue hire, catering, AV production, and hybrid event services under the NEC Group.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersBirmingham, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The ICC Birmingham does
The ICC Birmingham is a purpose-built international convention centre located at 8 Centenary Square in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. Opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991 on the site of the historic Bingley Hall, the venue operates 10 conference halls and 10 executive meeting rooms and hosts approximately 400 events per year, welcoming more than 350,000 delegates annually and over 8 million cumulatively since opening. It is wholly owned and operated by the NEC Group (rebranded to 'Nation's Experience Capital' in March 2026) and serves corporate, association, government, and consumer event organizers with in-house catering led by Executive Chef Simon Hellier, in-house AV and production services, hybrid event broadcast capability, and a curated supplier directory. The ICC generates revenue through four primary streams: venue space hire, catering and food services (serving roughly 130,000 delegates per year), event production and AV services, and standalone banqueting (over £5m annually across ICC and Vox combined). Pricing is quote-based for enterprise and association bookings, with standardized per-head tiers (£83-£116) for consumer-facing Christmas party packages. The venue holds ISO 14001 environmental certification, RaisingNutrition accreditation (first UK venue, 2024), and Food for the Brain accreditation (2017), and operates dedicated sales teams segmented by Associations, Corporate & Agency, and Banqueting, supported by dedicated Event Managers from enquiry through execution.
The ICC Birmingham firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The ICC Birmingham
- Legal name
- The International Convention Centre
- Website
- https://theicc.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The ICC Birmingham is a purpose-built convention centre in Birmingham, UK, hosting ~400 events and 350,000+ delegates annually across 10 halls. It serves corporate, association, and government clients with integrated venue hire, catering, AV production, and hybrid event services under the NEC Group.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The ICC Birmingham industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Conference and Event Venue Services
- NAICS
- Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Convention & Exhibition Centers (Public Convention Centers, Civic Centers) (THAHAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM), Conference Centers & Dedicated Meeting Venues (THAHAAAB)
Keywords
Where The ICC Birmingham is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Birmingham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The ICC Birmingham business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Venue Space Hire: Revenue from hiring conference halls, exhibition spaces, and executive meeting rooms for events ranging from intimate meetings to large-scale conferences.
- Catering and Food Services: In-house catering through Amadeus and Levy UK+I partnerships, providing conference day packages, banqueting, and on-stand hospitality. Includes award-winning culinary team serving 130,000+ delegates annually.
- Event Production Services: AV equipment rental, technical production, rigging, graphics, IT support, and venue decoration services provided through in-house teams.
- Banqueting Events: Standalone banqueting events generating over £5m revenue annually across ICC and Vox venues, serving 71,500 delegates at 230+ events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Standard Christmas Party Package |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | VIP Christmas Party Package |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Super VIP Christmas Party Package |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
The ICC Birmingham product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The ICC Birmingham is a purpose-built international convention centre offering 10 conference halls and 10 executive meeting rooms for events ranging from large-scale conferences of 2,500+ delegates to intimate boardroom meetings, supported by in-house catering led by Executive Chef Simon Hellier, integrated production and AV services, hybrid event broadcast technology, on-stand hospitality, and dedicated Event Managers from planning through to execution. The venue operates as part of The NEC Group campus alongside Vox Conference Venue, Utilita Arena Birmingham and the NEC, and hosts roughly 400 events per year with 350,000+ visitors annually.
Product overview
The ICC Birmingham is a purpose-built international convention centre offering a comprehensive portfolio of event services. The core offering consists of 10 conference halls and 10 executive meeting rooms for events ranging from large conferences for thousands to intimate meetings. Supporting services include award-winning in-house catering (over 650 industry awards) led by Executive Chef Simon Hellier, and complete production/technical support with state-of-the-art AV equipment and digital screens. Additional services encompass exhibitor support, on-stand hospitality, a supplier directory, and the Fully Connected exhibition build service. The venue also offers specialized sub-brands including Asian Weddings (with Madhu's catering partnership), Christmas party packages (Winter Carnival shared events and Jingle & Mingle private parties), and hybrid event technology. Partnerships include Levy UK&I for catering and HotelMap for accommodation booking. The venue hosts approximately 400 events annually welcoming 350,000 visitors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Conference Halls and Executive Meeting Rooms 10 conference halls (including tiered auditorium Hall 1, flat-floored 3,050m² Hall 3) and 10 executive meeting rooms configurable for events spanning boardrooms, U-shape, theatre, classroom, cabaret, banqueting and exhibition layouts, serving corporate event organisers, associations and agencies.
- In-House Catering Services Conference day packages, banqueting menus, and on-stand hospitality delivered by the in-house Amadeus team under Executive Chef Simon Hellier, with focus on seasonal ingredients, 50% plant-based menus (post-2025 Levy UK+I partnership), Asian-wedding specialist menus via Madhu's Limited, and 650+ industry awards.
- Production and Technical Support Audio-visual equipment rental, sound systems, lighting (including colour-changing LED), live videowalls, set and staging, rigging, graphics, IT support, and technical production management for conferences, exhibitions, and banqueting events, with in-house Production Managers assigned to each event.
- Event Services (Graphics, Security, IT Support, Venue Decoration) Comprehensive in-house services including graphics production and installation, heavy-duty security (Venue Protect multi-layered framework: CCTV, search and screening, vehicle checkpoints, hostile vehicle mitigation, security dog team), free Wi-Fi and connectivity, and venue decoration with floristry and event dressing.
- Asian Weddings Award-winning wedding offering at the venue with bespoke catering delivered through the partnership with Madhu's Limited (UK's leading South Asian caterer with 45+ years' heritage and fourth-generation expertise) and versatile event spaces for both lavish and intimate South Asian weddings.
- Jingle & Mingle Christmas Party Package Private themed Christmas party package for 150–250 guests featuring a Winter Wonderland theme, exclusive space hire, festive three-course meal, welcome drinks, DJ entertainment, dedicated event manager and event styling.
- Winter Carnival Shared Christmas Party Shared Christmas party experience with Winter Carnival theme running 3rd–19th December 2026, with 3-course festive dinner, live production and entertainment, offered in three tiers: Standard (£83 per person), VIP (£98 per person, rows 3–5 priority seating and table service) and Super VIP (£116 per person, front 2 rows, private drinks reception with canapés and midnight breakfast).
Companies that use The ICC Birmingham
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The ICC Birmingham technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The ICC Birmingham partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- NEC Group (Nation's Experience Capital)coreThe ICC is owned and operated by The NEC Group, now rebranded as Nation's Experience Capital. The Group encompasses NEC Campus, bp pulse LIVE, Vox Conference Venue, Utilita Arena Birmingham, and ICC Birmingham. The conventions team has welcomed 8.6 million visitors to over 14,500 events.
- Vox Conference VenuecoreSister venue within NEC Group offering flexible contemporary conferencing in a unique location. Works seamlessly with ICC to offer versatile venue options across Birmingham.
- Utilita Arena BirminghamcoreSister venue and closest parking option for ICC visitors. Part of NEC Group venue portfolio offering arena-scale events.
- Levy UK+IcorePartnership announced in 2025 ensuring food sits at the heart of every event with focus on seasonal ingredients and 50% plant-based menus.
- Amadeus CateringcoreIn-house catering partner at the ICC providing conference and banqueting food services. Led by Executive Head Chef Simon Hellier with over 32 years at the venue.
- Madhu's LimitedcorePremium Asian event catering specialist with over 45 years heritage and fourth-generation expertise. Provides bespoke catering for South Asian weddings and high-profile events at ICC.
- Carbon Consultancy by Conference CareminorPartnership for sustainable event delivery using five-step approach: Measure, Aim, Reduce, Assess, Offset. Helps organizations achieve carbon neutral events.
- West Midlands Growth CompanyminorStrategic marketing partnership driving Birmingham's reputation as a place to visit, meet and invest. Supports event bidding and Ambassador programme development.
- Westside BIDminorBusiness Improvement District partnership ensuring attractive, well-promoted, safer and cleaner business environment around ICC venue.
- Town Hall Symphony Hall (TSHS)minorIconic Birmingham landmark with Symphony Hall located within ICC Mall. Manages one of the world's finest concert halls with direct entrances from ICC.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The ICC Birmingham competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Messe Frankfurt: Messe Frankfurt is one of the world's largest trade fair and congress organisers, operating its own convention centre alongside large-scale exhibitions. As a broad incumbent in the global events infrastructure market, it provides a benchmark for venue-driven MICE operations similar in scope to ICC Birmingham's integrated offerings.
- GL Events: GL Events is a major French-listed venue operator and live event services group that manages convention centres, exhibition halls, and event services globally. It overlaps with ICC Birmingham's integrated venue-management and event-services model and represents a benchmark institutional operator in the same industry.
- Barbican Centre: The Barbican is a major arts and conference centre in central London operated by the City of London. Its business events space competes with ICC Birmingham for corporate conferences while its broader programming (theatre, cinema, exhibitions) makes it a broader incumbent in the UK venue and live-events space.
Direct peers
- Olympia London: Olympia London is a central London exhibition and conference venue undergoing major redevelopment. It targets similar trade show, exhibition, and corporate event demand as ICC Birmingham with overlapping in-house production, catering, and hybrid event offerings.
- QEII Centre, London: QEII Centre is a central London conference venue owned by the Greater London Authority that hosts corporate and association conferences. It shares The ICC Birmingham's focus on tiered auditoriums, plenary capacity, and turnkey event delivery for mid-to-large conferences in the UK market.
- ExCeL London: ExCeL London is the UK's largest dedicated exhibition and conference venue, operating two phases plus the International Convention Centre. Like The ICC Birmingham, it offers integrated event services, in-house catering, AV production, and hybrid event capability at a comparable scale, targeting the same UK and international corporate and association event market.
- ACC Liverpool: ACC Liverpool (alongside Exhibition Centre Liverpool and M&S Bank Arena) is a regional UK convention and events complex on the Liverpool waterfront. It competes directly with ICC Birmingham for regional association and corporate events with similar multi-purpose hall and auditorium formats.
- Manchester Central: Manchester Central is a purpose-built conference and exhibition venue in Manchester offering tiered auditoriums, exhibition halls, and meeting rooms. It directly competes with The ICC Birmingham for UK association conferences and corporate events with comparable capacity and turnkey event services.
- Scottish Event Campus (SEC Glasgow): SEC Glasgow operates the OVO Hydro, SEC Centre, and SEC Armadillo — a multi-venue events campus comparable to the NEC Group's portfolio model that includes ICC. It targets the same corporate, association, and entertainment events segment across the UK.
- Vox Conference Venue (Birmingham): Vox is a sister venue within NEC Group that offers flexible contemporary conferencing adjacent to the Resorts World Birmingham complex. While owned by the same parent as ICC Birmingham, it competes for and complements mid-size association and corporate conferences in the same West Midlands market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The ICC Birmingham social profiles
Digital presenceThe ICC Birmingham compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance9 records
The ICC Birmingham financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The ICC Birmingham leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
The ICC Birmingham funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The ICC Birmingham M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The ICC Birmingham
What does The ICC Birmingham do?
The ICC Birmingham is a purpose-built international convention centre offering 10 conference halls and 10 executive meeting rooms for events ranging from large-scale conferences of 2,500+ delegates to intimate boardroom meetings, supported by in-house catering led by Executive Chef Simon Hellier, integrated production and AV services, hybrid event broadcast technology, on-stand hospitality, and dedicated Event Managers from planning through to execution. The venue operates as part of The NEC Group campus alongside Vox Conference Venue, Utilita Arena Birmingham and the NEC, and hosts roughly 400 events per year with 350,000+ visitors annually.
Is The ICC Birmingham a public or private company?
The ICC Birmingham is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was The ICC Birmingham founded?
The ICC Birmingham was founded in 1991. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is The ICC Birmingham based?
The ICC Birmingham is headquartered in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The ICC Birmingham make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Venue Space Hire is the primary driver. The others are catering and Food Services, event Production Services and banqueting Events.
Who are The ICC Birmingham's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Messe Frankfurt, GL Events and Barbican Centre. Direct peers are Olympia London, QEII Centre, London, ExCeL London, ACC Liverpool, Manchester Central, Scottish Event Campus (SEC Glasgow) and Vox Conference Venue (Birmingham).
Does The ICC Birmingham have an API?
No public API is recorded for The ICC Birmingham.
What industry is The ICC Birmingham in?
The ICC Birmingham's product category is Conference and Event Venue Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHAAAA, Convention & Exhibition Centers (Public Convention Centers, Civic Centers), with a secondary code of MPAGAGAM, Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics). Its NAICS code is 71131.