London & Partners

Wishing you Season's Greetings from #London! ❄️✨🎁 Are you looking for festive activities in the capital this month? Look no further! Our Visit London team have collated a cohesive list of 101 things to do in London this Christmas. Check them all out here 👉 https://bit.ly/4gyLVV5 What’s your favourite thing to do in London over the festive period? Put your answer in the comments section below!

This holiday season, skip the high street and discover some truly unique gifts from small businesses our Grow London Local service have supported to flourish in the capital this year. 🎄 🎉 Whether it’s sustainable beauty, crocheted plushies or showstopper jewellery, there’s something for everyone. Use this guide to #SupportLocal and make your Christmas gifting more personal, meaningful and extra special. ✨ Here’s just a flavour: The Urban Vintage Affair – If you’re looking for a gift with charm, character and a touch of nostalgia, then this is the business for you. Natasha Francis , aka The Urban Vintage Lady, has tracked down one-of-a-kind finds that make unforgettable presents. Glaze Me Pretty – Transform someone’s home with these vibrant, hand-painted ceramics lovingly made by Raquel A. in her garden studio in South West London. From striking mugs to charming vases and seasonal pieces, they’re sure to bring some joy and a pop of colour. 🏺 Mouse & Grape - Cheese and wine enthusiast? Look no further. Born from Jessica Summer’s love affair with perfectly paired flavours, these luxurious hampers and tasting events are sure to bring a smile to any foodie this Christmas. 🧀🍷 The Sewyeah Social Club – Lifelong crafter christine leech inspires creativity with her vibrant selection of craft kits and workshops. From embroidery to paper crafts, these kits are perfect for crafters of all levels and make wonderful gifts that that spark joy and imagination. 🧶 Blackmarket – Make sustainability a part of everyday life with their innovative, eco-friendly refillable liquid handwash. With waterless refills that reduce carbon emissions and plastic packaging, their products offer a sustainable way to care for the planet – and your hands. 🧴 Explore the full Grow London Local Gift Guide via the link below for more unique gifts from small businesses we’ve proudly supported. https://lnkd.in/emxdqmCG

Our London Convention Bureau team quite literally brought a taste of London to Barcelona for this year’s IBTM World! ☕🍹✨ Over a packed three days, the team represented #London as the World Class city it is through: ✨ Holding 141 appointments. ✨ Meeting buyers from 46 countries who were keen to discuss opportunities. ✨ Holding a whopping 18 presentations. With all the buzz of the stand, we generated over 600 potential leads from international buyers who were interested in holding their event in London. Tate Galleries added an extra special touch by providing their very own tea and coffee for the London stand, roasted on-site as part of a sustainable CSR project empowering women in local coffee-growing communities. Transitioning to the afternoon by hosting a gin and tonic reception for potential clients, featuring their own blend of organic gin! Head of Europe, London & Partners and President of City DNA, Barbara Jamison-Woods, was also invited to speak on a panel at IBTM World, alongside the CEO of ICCA, Senthil Gopinath, to discuss collaboration and advocacy within our industry. The CVB team also attended various evening networking events, including a dinner at Soho House & Co Barcelona in collaboration with our partners: ✨ The Ned & Ned's Club London ✨ Pan Pacific London ✨ 2B UK DMC …and London & Partners’ good friends, Convene and etc.venues & Lore Group, where we were treated to some of the best British hospitality has to offer! We also attended events with UK destinations partners MeetEngland and Excel London. A massive thank you to Barbara Jamison-Woods, Tracy Halliwell MBE, Fiona Plumpton, Joshua Novick, Suzanne Singleton, Diogo Castro, Chloe Bailey, Luke Roberts, Emily Bell and Qadar Arif for promoting London and our exhibiting partners.

Did you hear? London placed top in Resonance’s World’s Best Cities Report for the 10th year in a row! 🥇 To celebrate, on Wednesday we held a press conference with Resonance at the Tate Modern, with speeches from Resonance President & CEO Chris Fair, and our own CEO, Laura Citron OBE. The Best Cities data, powered by a partnership with Ipsos, is lauded as one of the world's most thorough annual city rankings. Resonance ranks the world’s 100 top-performing cities across 28 key factors, summarised in the three lead metrics: lovability, prosperity and livability. London ranked: 🥇 Top in Lovability 🥈 Second in Prosperity 🥉 Third in Livability 7️⃣ Taking the top spot in 7 of the 28 categories! 🎉 “London continues to set the bar for what a truly great city should be. Our iconic attractions, world-class financial sector, and fast-growing tech industry are proof of our city’s strength. But it’s the diversity of our people and ideas that drives the innovation, opportunities, and progress that shape our future. No city embodies this quite like London.” Laura Citron OBE Download the full 2025 World's Best Cities Report here: WorldsBestCities.com

In case you missed it, Paddington Bear is now Visit London's first official Welcome Ambassador! 🐻 At London & Partners, we try to embody the value of inclusivity in everything that we do. London is a city with over 250 nationalities, where more than 270 languages are spoken, so Paddington, an ever-friendly and warm bear from Peru who finds his home here, is the perfect fit as our first ever Welcome Ambassador. ‘Mrs Brown says that in London everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in.’ Last week we launched the partnership by unveiling a celebratory mural on South Bank ahead of the release of the third Paddington film, 'Paddington in Peru'. Paddington’s new title was accepted by none other than the voice of Paddington himself, actor Ben Whishaw. The striking mural was created by Peruvian artist Gisella Stapleton, whose art draws on Latin American folklore and popular art. 'Paddington in Peru' will be in cinemas on Friday 8 November, and the mural will be up outside Waterloo station, ready to greet locals and visitors to London, until the end of January. 🎨 A HUGE thank you to everyone who supported and partnered with us on this announcement, including the teams at STUDIOCANAL, South Bank Employers Group (SBEG), Global Street Art, PREMIER and Network Rail, who helped to create a magical artwork and an unforgettable unveiling!

Today we kicked off #GrowSummit2024 with our very own CEO, Laura Citron OBE, on BBC News Today, discussing how #London is top for AI. Grow Summit is London & Partners’ annual event for the UK scale-up community, bringing together leading entrepreneurs, world-class advisors, and investors to address the challenges of business growth, fuel collaboration and unlock new connections and opportunities.   Some top takeaways and points covered in the show:   📍 London is #1 source city and #2 destination city globally for AI-related Foreign Direct Investment, as well a #1 in Europe for VC investment into AI. 📍 How Grow Summit helps companies access growth opportunities and support them to raise funding. 📍 The role of Grow London in supporting businesses expand internationally. 📍 The future of international AI regulation.   📺 Tune in to listen to the episode here at 23:00:00 👉 bbc.in/3NVb2VC 📰 Read the full press release here 👉 https://bit.ly/3CbUvtT For all live updates and news on #GROWSummit2024, follow our Grow London team on LinkedIn or find more information on our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3AszMl0 Janet Coyle CBE, Andrew Tibbitts, Leonora Wall, William Amiri-Fuller, Feeroza Patel

Grow Summit 2024 is here! London & Partners annual event for the UK scale-up community, bringing together leading entrepreneurs, world-class advisors, and investors to address the challenges of business growth, fuel collaboration and unlock new connections and opportunities. Our Grow London team today kick off #GROWSummit2024 with three transformative days focused on fueling growth, sparking collaboration, and shaping the future of UK scaleups!    Over the next few days, we’ll bring together business leaders, corporate innovators, and investors to explore the cutting-edge technologies reshaping our world.  Here’s a peek at what’s in store: 🏞️ Grow Summit Retreat - Two days dedicated to diving into the core challenges facing scaleups today. From scaling and funding to storytelling and strategy, this retreat offers honest conversations and game-changing insights. 🌟 Future Horizons Day - A deep dive into the role of emerging tech in critical sectors like cybersecurity and healthcare. Expect thought-provoking discussions on the evolving relationship between humans, intelligent machines, and data to build a brighter future. Ready to connect, learn, and lead the way? Follow Grow London for all the live updates or find out more here 👉 https://bit.ly/3AszMl0

This year, we brewed up a cauldron of thrills to mark a fang-tastic Spook Fest at London & Partners! 🦇 👻 During one of our busier times of the year, staff come together and enjoy some light hearted fun in the form of our annual Halloween Party. For the second year in a row our Charity Committee, led by Danny O'sullivan & Emily Williams, hosted a Halloween Bake-Off to raise money. This year our Halloween & Christmas activities are raising money for Action for Children, and have so far raised a fabulous £400 through three days of gorging on ghoulish bakes. The week culminated in our party & social, packed with nostalgic activities including the flour game, apple bobbing & doughnuts on a string. We even had a visit from Paranormal Paul O'Connor (our picture editor) reading tarot for many eager colleagues. Huge congratulations to Beth Brookes-Lamdin for winning Best Bake with her bloody brains & Holly Hunter Bennett for winning Best Dressed with her tried and tested ghost costume. The stakes were high and the competition close, a huge thank you to all staff and children who got involved! 🖤

London & Partners wish a Happy Diwali & Bandi Chhor Divas to all who celebrate! Last week, our Interfaith Network hosted a lunchtime celebration to mark Diwali. Our Managing Director of Operations, Nayan Rughani (ACMA, CGMA), shared an overview on Hinduism and meaning of Diwali, including the festivities that take place before Diwali & his own plans for the holiday. Representing our India office, Abhilasha Malik, Vice President – North India, dialled in remotely to share how Diwali is celebrated in Delhi, and what the festival means for her. All the while our colleagues came together at our London office to share a delicious feast provided by Café Grill in Brick Lane. A huge thank you to the chairs of our Interfaith Network for organising this event, Yasmin Malik & Linda Adams-Avornyo!

It’s been a busy month for our team at the London Convention Bureau! October saw them heading across the world to showcase #London at IMEX America 2024, all the while preparing for the upcoming IBTM World in November ✈️🌎 Along with 27 of our top tourism partners, we had the pleasure of reconnecting with clients and forming valuable new connections. From world-class venues to otherworldly hotels, we were delighted to highlight London’s vibrant and evolving landscape for meetings and incentives.   Thank you to everyone who visited us at the London stand and helped make this year’s IMEX America a huge success! But it doesn’t stop there… Meet 24 of our top partners at IBTM World this year, between 19 to 21 November at stand G30! 🤝 In London, you can create tailored itineraries to host the perfect experience for your delegates… the opportunities are endless! Follow the team at London Convention Bureau or find out here how they can help you unlock the city for your next business event 👉 https://lnkd.in/eWtWeQf7 Tracy Halliwell MBE, Joshua Novick, Charlie Osborn, Emmy Husband, Serena Tallarico, Ailsa Buck, Qadar Arif, Donna Abberley