Corporate renaissance for G1's Corinthian

The Corinthian, owned by Stefan King's G1 Group, will reopen to the public on 28 August after an eight-month closure to carry out the extensive refurbishment work.

David McDowall, G1's director of operations, expects the site quickly to regain its former popularity and "comfortably" become the leader in both sales and profits across G1's portfolio of 43 managed venues.

Part of this is expected to be driven by an increase in corporate clientele at the Corinthian, which will feature a variety of meeting and event rooms alongside its bar, dining and gaming facilities. Before closing, the site generated about a third of sales from corporate clients, but this is expected to rise to between 40 and 45 per cent of revenues.

McDowall described G1's ambitions in the corporate sector as "quite considerable". "It is certainly not an ancillary offering; it is very much a core market for us," he said.

The Corinthian is the largest of G1's venues across Scotland. The Glasgow venue is located on the site of the Virginia Mansion built in 1752 for city merchant George Buchanan.

G1 also intends to promote a "Friends" of the Corinthian programme, whereby members pay an annual fee for additional privileges and services. These will range up to the "black card" intended for corporate customers, which gives holders a variety of perks including a direct line to the Corinthian's events staff for those looking to organise a gathering.

Despite the abundance of meeting space in Glasgow, McDowall says he believes G1 will be able to tap into an unmet desire for unique event venues. "It is so critical to do something different," he said. "There really is not room for any more generic meeting spaces in this market."

Like most within the leisure and retail industry, G1 has experienced tougher trading conditions through the economic downturn. The group's latest accounts filed with Companies House show a drop in profits for the year to March 2009, though marketing director Angus Lawrie said things had improved more recently, with like-for-like sales growing at a 1.5 per cent clip during the three months to June.

Most of that, Lawrie added, is being driven by food sales. The result is that G1 is "holding its own".

"Customers are going out less often but when they do, they are very selective about where they spend their hard-earned cash," he said.

"Offering a unique and consistently high-quality experience is the key in continuing to capture repeat business."