Xavier Cadiou, European Development Director of Banks Sadler, talks to Ewa Hancock

Where does the name Banks Sadler come from?
We are not a bank. We are an event management company that was created in Britain in 1982 by three young events professionals including Mrs. Banks and Mr. Sadler. We are still privately owned and have now grown into an international agency with 120 staff in five offices across four European countries.

What services do you offer? And what makes you different from the many other agencies on the Polish market?
Our two core services are venue finding and event management. Venue finding is still little known outside Britain and the United States. It is about finding venues for corporate meetings and events but more importantly it is about negotiating rates and contracts for our clients and saving their money. Our systems also enable us to produce reports in any possible format, which helps our clients identify where their meeting spending goes and manage it better year on year.

Event management is a full service where a project manager not only finds the venue but works alongside the client throughout the project, from conception through to post-event assessment, to produce a memorable event for the staff and clients. What makes us notably different, aside from our venue finding approach, is our pricing, as we really are transparent. Whether it's venue finding or event management, we agree a fee with our client which will not change if the brief does not change and nothing is added or hidden. We do not mark up third-party rates and will show any commission earnings from suppliers and how those affect our fees.

So what brought you to Poland?
One of our clients! A large British pharmaceutical company asked us to provide them in Poland with the same services we have been offering their people in Britain for the last 15 years. We set up as an "implant" within their office in late 2005 and saved them just over 20 percent on rates and contracts in the first year. We then decided to move into our own space, recruit new team members and start offering our services to others.

Who are your clients?
Our clients are a mixture of pharmaceutical, telecoms and consultancy firms in Poland. Across our offices we also work with the automotive, financial and manufacturing industries. Our client base is corporate companies so we do not source space for weddings and birthdays but will be happy to help anyone planning a meeting, conference, party, product launch or incentive. The scope is wide and we like a challenge!

What is the future for Banks Sadler?
Poland was the first step in our European expansion. We have proved that we could make it happen here and have since opened offices in Paris and Düsseldorf. The future in Poland is to grow organically and get involved in some exciting events. Outside of Poland we are looking at other European markets and possibly further afield later in 2008.

How do people get in touch with you?
There is a team of three permanent staff based in our Warsaw office. At busier times, they are supported by other part-time employees and a number of Polish-speaking employees in our London office. All our team members come from an events or hotel background which means that they have a good understanding of how meetings and events are priced and of what can be negotiated. The best way is to call or email them. They will take your brief and will come back to you within 24 hours if it is only venue finding and within a matter of days for a full event management proposal.

Banks Sadler Poland tel.: +48 22 548 01 08
e-mail: info@banks-sadler.pl
www.banks-sadler.pl