American Express Meetings & Events and WRG have announced a strategic partnership in the UK, which they say creates a full-service offering ‘like no other’.

Peter Manning, UK director, American Express Meetings & Events, said: “We’re really excited about this partnership. We’re certain this is an absolute first; no other meeting management company in the UK can offer what we now are able to.”

He added that WRG, which has been involved in the organisation of the Papal Visit to the UK and the G20 summit, was a clear choice: “We looked at potential partners and a lot of research was done. WRG is a very strong brand, they have managed some incredibly impressive high profile meetings and their creative skills, strategic messaging and ability to deliver on the production side made it a very easy choice.”

Barry Day, CEO of WRG, said clients would benefit from a consolidated approach to what is often a fragmented process involving multiple suppliers. “We’re working right across the event spend and across a number of countries, that way you can drive the consistency across all the processes and the creative and the marketing messages and ensure brand consistency and compliance.”

Although the partnership has just been formally announced, the two companies have already collaborated on a large pharmaceutical meeting in the US. Manning said: “While the partnership wasn’t formalised, the feedback from the customer was that it was completely seamless.”

The partnership won’t result in any consolidation of administrative functions but may see the relocation of teams.

Day said: “The partnership is a trading arrangement. It’s about getting our people to work closely together and the most efficient way of doing that may involve us working in the same business units but we are remain two separate entities. There are no overhead savings but there are efficiency savings in the way we can seamlessly work together.”

Pictured: Barry Day, WRG and Peter Manning, American Express Meetings & Events