In November 2023 Story celebrated our tenth birthday! As we come to the end of fantastic year, and we start a new decade, we wanted to reflect on just how far Story have come…
Story was set up by our Founders, Sam and Dominque Gill, in 2013 with a team of just five. Today we now have 20 employees split across our Sales, Operations and Exhibitions teams. In August 2023, Story was acquired and has become part of SMART Group which is a dynamic collection of hospitality, catering, venue, and event management businesses. Proudly, at ten years old, we have recently become part of an umbrella organisation with over 100 employees!
Our agency has grown in size and so has our portfolio of corporate clients and events. Since 2013 we have managed over 500 corporate events including Gala, Charity & Awards Dinners, Conferences, Product Launches, Exhibitions, Brand Showcases, Corporate Away Days, Summer Parties and Christmas Parties. Our first events involved curating experiences on a variety of scales, from intimate breakfast gatherings to a summer ball for 800 people, and everything in between. A highlight from our early years involved creating a sky-high festival in the stunning Sushi Samba! We designed and produced a vibrant scene where we installed real grass flooring across the entire restaurant and dining rooms floors, a secret garden where guests could enjoy liquid nitrogen ice cream and a Glastonbury-style main stage where guests gathered to dance the night away to an electrifying live and exclusive performance by Stereophonics!
2019 was our biggest year to date where, we soared to new heights, orchestrating over 80 spectacular events that set the stage for bespoke and memorable experiences.
When the challenges of March 2020 onwards arose, we seamlessly transitioned to the virtual realm, planning and delivering immersive virtual events, as well as curating bespoke corporate artisan gifts to support our clients in staying connected with their colleagues and audiences.
Event locations over the years have included London, Birmingham, Manchester, Oxford and Bristol to name just a few, plus international events in Chicago and Madrid! We have some exciting enquiries for 2024 and we are looking forward to seeing where Story will go next…
The London Christmas Party Show and London Summer Event Show are a huge part of Story’s success, and they continue to grow year on year. Over the years, the Shows have won industry awards including the Gold Award for Best Live Marketing Event at the Meeting and Industry Awards 2014, which we received for the first edition of the Show. In 2019, the London Christmas Party Show also won Best Trade Show at the EN Indy Awards.
The first London Christmas Party Show had 583 visitors attend with 42 companies exhibiting, compared to 2023 which had 817 visitors attend and 87 exhibitors. We will be hosting our tenth LCPS in 2024, so watch this space!
The London Summer Event Show launched in 2015 with 721 visitors who attended to see 46 exhibitors. This grew over the years and in 2020, the London Summer Event Show saw 1057 visitors attending and 93 exhibitors being part of the show.
We are about to head into our 10th year of the London Summer Event Show, which will be at Freemasons’ Hall on 20th – 21st February 2024.
We are so proud of our first decade and would like to say a huge thank you for the support from our wonderful clients, suppliers and partners. Most importantly we would like to thank our incredible team, both present and past, who have created and shaped our success over these years. We can’t wait to see where the next decade takes us!
