The Sporting Times

Country estates see growing demand for corporate days out

Google ‘corporate days out’ and you get a return of 659,000,000 hits. Whether it’s a raft-building challenge, an adrenaline-filled high ropes activity or a team go-cart driving race, the idea is that employees will depart with a sense of accomplishment and return to the office motivated and engaged. If the theory is right it should boost morale and, in turn, improve productivity.

The growing trend for corporate days out is to head out of the city to a countryside estate. Many corporate events businesses have grown to meet that demand over the last 20 years. Alicia Currie, marketing manager of team building company Off Limits, says: ‘Using countryside estates is definitely a growing part of our business. It is a great team day out. We work with a huge number of country estates, many of which have so much to offer – from clay pigeon shooting to 4x4 off-road driving. Being outdoors can be inspirational. The space, the beauty and the clean air is attractive. Often, the house can be a stunning venue for catering too, so you get the best of both worlds.’

Englefield House, outside the quaint village of Theale near Reading, is one of the many country estates to have picked up on the demand. Events manager Peter Carson explains: ‘There is definitely more and more interest in corporate hospitality. The house and grounds at Englefield were used as the venue for a large Aston Martin auction and concourse in early June, and in late June, Bupa hosted Challenge 2018, a team building event for their clients and business partners, involving different activities around the estate – everything from mountain biking and laser clay shooting to a mental and physical obstacle course.

He continues: ‘Last year Facebook brought 12,000 of their staff and families for their annual summer staff party, which was themed as an enchanted garden. We offer a bespoke service, pride ourselves on delivering the highest standards of service and pay close attention to the little things.’

Space to accommodate large groups of people and Englefield’s location so close to London, make it a particularly appealing choice. The lure of the estate plays a big part for the corporate giants too. It is a famous filming location for Neflix drama The Crown and big movies like The King’s Speech, and further notoriety came when Pippa Middleton and James Matthews married there last year.

Capitalising on its place in the spotlight, Englefield branched out even further this summer when it transformed itself into a unique music concert venue for the first time, hosting Madness and Sir Tom Jones in July. With a community of farms and woodlands covering 14,000 acres, Englefield is a prime example of an estate perfectly set up to offer corporate days.

englefieldestate.co.uk

Englefield estate hosts corporate team building days for companies like Facebook and Bupa

Pippa Middleton married James Matthews at Englefield

Are you game?

James Purdey & Sons teamed up with Boisdale Restaurants and Taste of Game to found The Eat Game Awards which celebrates the champions of wild game meat in Britain. From 12 August to 30 September the public can vote for the winners before the results are announced at the awards dinner on 9 October. eatgameawards.co.uk

Learn from the best

James Purdey has purchased Royal Berkshire Shooting Group which will continue its current range of services with the addition of selected Purdey products. James Horne, chairman of James Purdey, says of the acquisition: ‘We are delighted to welcome the RBSG team and combine these two outstanding brands.’

purdey.com; rbss.co.uk

Go girls

Orvis is leading the change for gender equality on the river bank with its 50/50 On the Water campaign. To this end, they have invested in women-specific gear development and tailored learning and adventure experiences for women, and committed to more options for families and children to participate in the sport.

orvis.co.uk

New Estate on the Block

After a multi-millionpound makeover, Tulchan estate in the Cairngorms has reopened. The 22,000-acre estate will welcome guests in September to enjoy the best of shooting, fishing and outdoor pursuits that Scotland has to offer. Nicholas Haslam has maintained many of the original features of the lodge while injecting warmth and sumptuousness.

tulchan.com

A shot above the rest

A new Rigby rifle ranged is to be unveiled at West London Shooting School this autumn after a year of development. The range boasts five firing points for the 100m (which can be used simultaneously) and two firing points from 200m including a running boar – the only running target within the M25.

shootingschool.co.uk