London’s so-called 'growth agency' London & Partners will be reducing activity and restructuring teams this year as it faces changes to its funding.
The agency, home of the London Convention Bureau, said it needed to make savings across the organisation as part of a three-year strategy which was launched last autumn to ‘deliver greater long-term impact for London’.
It has not been announced where cuts will be made, although in a statement London & Partners, which is primarily funded by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority with partners and venture businesses, said it would ‘prioritise areas most important to London’s long-term growth’.
Earlier this year, Brussels, another hugely popular destination for international association meetings, announced it was effectively axing its convention bureau team after budget cuts.
Any cuts to funding to support London's business meetings and events sector would be a short-sighted move. The London Convention Bureau reported that business events added over £158m to the London economy during the first nine months of 2024 with a pipeline of contracted events suggesting the figure would be much higher.
Last month, London was named the top meeting venue in Europe by Cvent for the fourth consecutive year.
London Convention Bureau said the ranking reinforced London’s position as a leading global events hub, adding that the capital would be welcoming 80,000 delegates at business events in 2026.
Barbara Jamison-Woods, head of Europe, Convention Bureau at London & Partners, said: “Global organisations continue to choose London because of the city’s blend of expertise, connectivity, and a genuinely collaborative environment. Event planners value London’s high‑quality venues, its diverse academic and professional networks, and its ability to bring together delegates from around the world.
“With major congresses already secured and active bids in place for the years ahead, it highlights London’s enduring strength as a trusted, future‑focused home for the business tourism sector.”
The plans to scale back at the capital’s growth agency follow the announcement that its national counterpart – VisitBritain – is restructuring its business events division due to reductions in government funding.
A number of roles, including that of head of business events Paul Black, have been cut as the tourism agency’s grant-in-aid funding reduced by 41 per cent.
London & Partners Statement:
In Autumn 2025, London & Partners launched a new three-year strategy to deliver greater long-term impact for London, and we have made strong progress over the past year.
As we enter the second year of the strategy, while we have seen increased income in some areas, changes to our funding and delivery requirements mean we need to make savings across London & Partners, including some reductions to activity and changes to team structures and roles. Our priority in making these savings will be to prioritise the areas most important to London’s long-term growth, our partners and future sustainability. We are also continuing to invest in technology transformation to improve efficiency and impact over the medium term.
We remain committed to working closely with the Mayor, our partners and stakeholders as we continue to champion London.
