UK: John Farrell Arena Group, UK Theatres

Farrell Joins Arena Group As COO

Arena Group, the UK-based globally operating event services company, welcomes John Farrell to its senior management team as part of its commitment to expansion.

“Given the ever increasing international size and spread of the business,” the announcement states, “John’s addition to the team adds additional resource to support group management and leadership teams.”

Farrell most recently worked for Morrison Utility Services, where he managed the acquisition and integration of a number of UK projects. He also held positions at Amey plc and Enterprise plc. 

null – John Farrell
Arena Group (UK)

At Arena Group, Farrell will report to the group’s CEO, Greg Lawless, who said he was “delighted to have secured the appointment of John as his breadth of business experience will further bolster a strong senior management team and enhance the Group’s international expansion capabilities in line with our ambitious growth and acquisition plans.”

Farrell added: “I join Arena Group at an exciting time given the most recent growth of the business which includes the addition of the five year contract for the PGA Championships in the US as well as the recent acquisition of Wernick Event’s seating and mass participation divisions.”

UK Theaters Set Box Office Record

Theaters across the UK generated box office revenues of £1.12 billion in 2016, which marks a £30 million increase compared with 2015.

According to The Stage, this success was achieved despite “severe local authority funding cuts.” London’s theaters including the iconic West End venues were responsible for more than half of total revenues, taking some £648.3 billion at the box office in 2016.

The Society of London Theatre, which measures these figures, said this marked a 1.7 percent year-on-year increase. UK Theatre, the body responsible for the majority of theaters outside of the English capital, measured overall ticket sales of £471.7 million, a 3.6 percent increase year-on-year.

UK Theatre President Fiona Allan said “the industry had shown remarkable resilience in a challenging financial climate,” according to The Stage.