Invasion Events helps boost pub trade
An events company is helping to boost trade at a number of pubs and bars across the UK.
Invasion Events, which started in 2008, takes 1,000 students from one University town for a night out in another while supervising the event to ensure a safe environment.
Typically students are split up in to groups of 200 and visit between four or five pubs and bars before all ending up at a club and then bussed back to their hometown.
There have been three events this year — in Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham.
A spokesman for Invasion Events stressed the company went "above and beyond" to ensure a safe environment for the students. "When you go to University, you only get to experience one town and we know students want to know what other towns are like.
"So we are enabling them to do that in a safe and supervised environment."
Invasion pays for a first aider to accompany all trips, employs reps and all directors are also present at each event. It has even paid for extra security at venues and offered to pay for police as well.
It submits a 26-page health and safety risk assessment to police around three months in advance of any event so that any concerns can be talked over.
Invasion does not charge commission to the venues it visits and said it had a waiting list of bars hoping to take part in events. "It provides a massive uplift in trade for the bars," the spokesman said. "We have good partnerships with places like Walkabout, Cream, Gatecrasher, Tiger Tiger and Yates's."
Students pay around £20 for the trip — and that does not include any free drinks. "Where venues have said they would put on special drinks prices for the visit, our party line is that under no circumstances should there be any special drinks prices.
"We do not want to be seen to be promoting irresponsible drinking."
He added: "Pubs and bars are dying a death with the recession and all the drinking at home and we are helping them. We are putting money into the late night economy in that town.
"At the same time we are providing a safe service for students."
Invasion also helps runs high profile events such as the African Music Awards and is set to branch out into student travel to places such as as Amsterdam, Prague and Ibiza.
Care
Birmingham's Broad Street manager Mike Olley said the Invasion event was fun for all.
"Invasion Events clearly have got the system well mapped out," he said. "They break down the students into manageable groups which works so well. They clearly care about the students, which is at the heart of any of these kind of things."
He added: "I want more of these Invasion events down Broad Street. I can work with their management team and want to again. A big welcome awaits down Broad Street."
