Church House Westminster reports strong H1

Church House Westminster has reported:

Double the charity events and delegate numbers YOYAverage booking size increase of 27% YOYCumulative AV revenue is 48% up on last year with a 15% increase on budget

Iconic London events venue, Church House Westminster, has announced a strong first half of the year.

The team welcomed more than 17,600 delegates during the first half of 2026 as Church House hosted a total of 175 events. These ranged from award ceremonies to multi-day conferences, demonstrating the breadth of events hosted at the Grade II listed venue.

Charity gala events have performed particularly strongly, with the venue almost doubling the number of charity event bookings compared with the same period last year. Welcoming a total of 21 charity events between January and June this year, Church House saw more than 3,400 delegates walk through its doors, more than double the number during the same period in 2025 (1,300). The increase reflects growing demand for fundraisers, seeking central London venues that combine heritage, sustainability credentials and flexible event spaces.

And it’s not just new business the venue is excelling with, but its client retention rate sits at a healthy 64% with feedback praising outstanding customer service across the venue team.The positive momentum sets Church House up for a strong second half of the year, supported by nearly £400,000 of planned and completed venue improvements during 2026. These include enhancements to the Dean’s Yard entrance, cloakroom facilities, wayfinding and sustainability initiatives, alongside a major £300,000 investment in AV and production technology, featuring new LED screens, a modular stage set and an Analog Way Aquilon system (Video switcher).The venue will also announce the total amount raised for charity through its quarterly ESG-themed client competitions, designed to encourage more sustainable event choices. Clients making sustainability commitments, such as selecting a fully plant-based menu or going paperless with digital event collateral, are entered into a prize draw, with Church House donating £1 to charity for every delegate attending the winning event. The initiative builds on the venue’s wider ESG strategy, following its achievement of net zero status in 2024, six years ahead of its original target.Marina Papadopoulou, Head of Sales and Marketing at Church House Westminster, said: “We’re thrilled with the interest in the venue and our strong conversion rates so far this year. A successful first half gives us real momentum as we turn our attention to the busy Christmas party and winter conference season.

Our Spring-Summer 2026 Event Menus

Church House Westminster's Spring/Summer 2026 menus bring together seasonal British produce, vibrant global flavours and sustainability-led dining for memorable summer events in London. Created for conferences, receptions, corporate entertaining and dinners, the SS26 collection pairs colourful dishes with curated hospitality from Searcys.

Breakfast menus energise delegates with seasonal fruit platters, pastries and multigrain bagels with whipped ricotta, figs and London honey, alongside lighter options like chia seed pudding with spinach and blueberries, avocado with poached St Ewe's eggs on sourdough, and organic yoghurt with fruit compotes. Heartier dishes include smoked British bacon, Searcys London breakfast sausage, buttermilk pancakes with blueberry compote, and slow-cooked eggs with smoked salmon and avocado.

A colourful smoothie and juice selection adds a fresh touch to morning breaks: strawberry and banana, blueberry and apple, almond butter and acai, and rhubarb, apple and yoghurt smoothies, plus carrot, orange and ginger juice and spinach, kale and apple shots.

Hot buffets bring globally inspired dining: “Flame of the Algarve” (Portuguese grilled chicken, bean stew, piri-piri vegetables), “Miso Hungry” (chicken teriyaki, sesame rice, pickled salads), “Nacho Average Buffet” (chicken tinga, black bean stew, roasted cauliflower adobo), “Stars, Stripes & Sides” (BBQ pulled pork, mac and cheese, peach cobbler, marking America's 250th anniversary), and “Great Plates of Britain” (herb roast chicken, asparagus gratin, roasted new potatoes, summer pudding).

Afternoon tea, our favourite upsell, is served with Jing teas and Notes coffee, finger sandwiches, savoury tarts and buttermilk scones with Cornish clotted cream, plus lemon tart, strawberry macarons, blackcurrant éclairs and orange poppyseed Battenberg – with Searcys English sparkling wine optional.

Dinner menus focus on provenance: starters include pâté en croûte with violet artichoke, and charred trout with smoked roe cream. Mains range from beef short rib with Szechuan crumble to vegetarian tortello pasta with fontina and English asparagus, and Delica pumpkin pithivier. Desserts include vanilla cheesecake, Pimm's trifle, fruits of the forest, and Peach Melba.

Sustainability underpins every menu: free-range eggs from St Ewe's Farm, MCS Good Fish Guide seafood, Wildfarmed flour, Surrey sparkling wine, plant-based dishes, mindful drinking and carbon-conscious planning – combining seasonal dining and premium hospitality in one of London's most iconic venues.

Church House Westminster's Sustainable Venue Milestones

Each year, Earth Day offers a moment to pause, reflect and take action – a reminder that the choices we make shape the world we'll experience tomorrow. It began on 22 April 1970, marking the birth of the modern environmental movement. The 2026 theme, ‘Our Power, Our Planet’, spotlights collective action across individuals, organisations and industries.

At Church House Westminster, this resonates deeply. Our historic venue, in the heart of one of the world's most iconic cities, is a place where sustainability is actively championed. This commitment has been recognised through the UK Excellence Award for Sustainability and Charity Times Sustainable Charity of the Year 2025.

Since 1970, Earth Day has grown into one of the world's largest awareness days, mobilising over a billion people annually. For venues like ours, that responsibility is clear: events bring people together and inspire change, but carry an environmental cost we must minimise.

Having achieved net zero status six years ahead of target, our approach is practical and constantly evolving. We work with suppliers who share our environmental standards. A major refurbishment achieved a carbon negative outcome through carbon-absorbing paint, energy-efficient LED lighting and AV systems, and Eco Smart Platinum accreditation. On-site bug hotels support local biodiversity.

Catering, crafted by Searcys, prioritises seasonal British produce with full traceability, RSPCA-assured milk and eggs, and Marine Conservation Society-approved fish. Plant-based and vegetarian dishes are expanding to 25% of menus, supported by the Nourish by Searcys concept. We also maintain a single-use plastic ban, zero waste to landfill, and support for community coffee farms.

We work closely with clients to create mindful, memorable events – encouraging paperless conferences, low-carbon menus and conscious supplier choices. Our central London location, easily reached by public transport, reduces the need for high-emission travel.

Preserving a historic building is, in itself, a sustainable choice, and we continue investing in efficiency improvements. Sustainability is also driven by people: all staff are Carbon Literacy trained, alongside training in neurodiversity and hidden disabilities, supported by dedicated Neurodiversity and Menopause Champions.

Earth Day reminds us that no action is too small. We see every event as an opportunity to reduce impact and inspire change, and invite our clients and partners to join us on this journey.

Our new Spring/Summer 2026 Menu offerings

Our Spring-Summer menu pack, created by Searcys for 2026, is now live. It covers everything we can offer, from a quick morning coffee break to a seated three-course dinner.

Breakfast starts with a £7pp morning buffet and builds to a full Classic English served buffet-style, with a Continental option in between. For a lighter start, the Signature Morning Welcome features chia seed pudding with London honey and juices pressed to order.

For lunch, the sandwich option keeps busy conferences on track, while the cold buffet expands with a choice of boards, including a popular British charcuterie and cheese selection. The standing finger food menu lets guests choose five items plus three chef's choice salads, from £32.50pp for groups of 20-50.

The Hot Fork Buffet offers five themed menus: Flame of the Algarve (piri-piri chicken), Miso Hungry (teriyaki, build-your-own rice), Nacho Average Buffet (finishing with chipotle chocolate brownie), Stars, Stripes & Sides (American barbecue), and Great Plates of Britain (summer pudding with English berries).

Afternoon tea, served as a buffet or with table service, features finger sandwiches, buttermilk scones with Cornish clotted cream, and a torched lemon meringue tart, with Jing teas and optional Searcys English sparkling.

Evening canapés start at £14 for a minimum of 20 guests, including red prawn spring rolls, wild mushroom croquette, Welsh rarebit soufflé, lamb rump barbacoa and strawberry pavlova. Formal dining delivers a three-course experience from £73pp, including coffee, petit fours and a British cheese course.

Plant-based diets are considered throughout, with a full Vegan English Breakfast, vegan canapés, and clearly marked (ve) choices. The pack names 33 local British producers, with fish chosen against MCS Good Fish Guide ratings and English sparkling wine from a Guildford vineyard.

Alongside pre-booked packages, the on-site Church House Café offers a relaxed option from 8am, with Notes speciality coffee, yoghurt bowls, bacon rolls and avocado on sourdough, moving to deli-style salads, sandwiches and hot savouries from midday to 4:30pm.

Every menu has clearly marked vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Catering is created by Searcys, working with a network of British producers. Book early for the best availability – we host events in the evenings and at weekends, and can arrange licensed bar services for your event.

New Breakfast Networking Packages

Church House Westminster has introduced two new early-morning networking packages designed to help professionals capitalise on the quieter hours at the start of the working day.

As more commuters arrive early to avoid peak travel, these early riser packages let teams meet, connect and share ideas before the day begins – a practical alternative to finding meeting time during core office hours.

The stand-alone networking breakfast runs 8am-10am for up to 50 delegates, combining room hire with premium breakfast canapés including petite eggs florentine, smoked haddock kedgeree, and miniature baked beans with cheese on toast. Audio-visual facilities and a dedicated events coordinator are included. Prices start at £67pp for a minimum of 20 guests.

The second option suits conference organisers wanting a pre-conference reception. Priced at £35pp plus VAT, it includes breakfast canapés, a chef's choice food bowl, and hot drinks and juices, served before the conference begins.

Both packages are now bookable, turning early starts into productive opportunities in one of Westminster's most recognisable meeting spaces, a stone's throw from Parliament Square.

To book, contact sales@churchhouseconf.co.uk.

2025 Sustainability Report - Carbon Reduction Milestones

One year on from officially becoming a net zero events venue – achieved an incredible half a decade ahead of target – Church House Westminster has continued to exceed its own green records in 2025.

The venue has reduced water use by a phenomenal 41% since attaining net zero status at the end of 2024. Its overall carbon footprint has fallen by a further 8%, decreasing by more than 66,000kg CO2e in 2025, while electricity use has dropped by a further 7%.

The first Grade II listed venue to use carbon-absorbing paint and spray cork insulation, Church House continues to innovate. It is now exploring more direct routes for water and air through the building – a technique that could cut boiler use by 15%.

Church House is a founding signatory to Greengage's ‘Swap Plastic for Purpose’ campaign. As a Platinum EcoSmart venue, it's working towards becoming single-use plastic free, ensuring exhibition giveaways avoid single-use plastic and seeking an alternative to clingfilm in the kitchen.

This year, Church House distributed used coffee granules to customers for compost and allotments, and added a lavender garden to its two refugee-managed bug hotels to support native bees and insects. It also donated clothing to homelessness charity The Passage every three months, promoting the charity via its reception screens.

All staff are now trained in carbon literacy and neurodiversity. Head of Business Development & Marketing Marina Papadopoulou became an approved carbon literacy trainer in 2025, and the venue has dedicated champions for menopause, neurodiversity and hidden disabilities.

These efforts, alongside low-carbon menus and zero waste to landfill, earned Church House platinum at the 2025 Greengage Sustainability Awards for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Carbon Reduction & Net Zero Progress’. It was also shortlisted for the London Venue & Catering Awards 2025 and highly commended at the C&IT Impact Awards.

CEO Stephanie Maurel said: “Reaching net zero so far ahead of schedule was never the end of the journey for us – it was the beginning. Our team has continued pushing boundaries and finding creative ways to deepen our positive impact, and we're committed to leading by example into 2026 and beyond.”

Church House are carbon Neutral Six Years Early

Balance is a useful thing – in yoga, in cooking, in life generally. We might not have mastered work-life balance, but when it comes to carbon emissions, we've nailed it (and we're not being shy about saying so).

One more time for the people at the back: Church House, Westminster is officially a net zero venue. We absorb as much carbon as we emit, so we're not adding any extra greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Perfectly balanced, you might say.

We're also six years ahead of schedule, having smashed our original target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030. Being a historic venue hasn't held us back – if anything, it's pushed us to find creative, out-of-the-box ways to move forward while honouring our heritage.

Take our recent carbon-negative refurbishment. The emissions we captured were equivalent to flying London to New York and back 1,067 times. We started with a special carbon-absorbing paint – the kind no other Grade II listed venue yet uses – which, across all our rooms, absorbed 460kg of CO2: the equivalent of driving more than 48,000km in a diesel car, further than the Earth's circumference.

We also laid spray cork insulation over an area more than half the size of Trafalgar Square. Cork is 100% natural, renewable and recyclable, with low thermal conductivity. Our 6,000m² of it keeps Church House warmer in winter and cooler in summer, delivering a 6% improvement in temperature control and a significant cut in energy use.

As a venue that only works with sustainable suppliers, we became a pilot member of the Westminster and Victoria District Energy Heat Network, expected to save 75,000 tonnes of CO2 annually – equivalent to taking 40,000 cars off the road. By 2027, it will use heat from the Tube and the Thames to warm buildings across the area.

We've also teamed up with charity Bees & Refugees to create a bug hotel on our roof, managed by refugees, and partnered with sustainable events consultancy Event Decision so clients can track and improve the carbon footprint of their events.

Elsewhere, we send no waste to landfill (75% recycled or anaerobically digested, 25% used for energy recovery); our waterless urinals cut water usage by 92%, saving 7.5 million litres a year – about three Olympic pools; and carbon-saving LED lighting has cut our electricity use by almost 80%. Even our reception feature wall is made from recycled plastic, including a former washing machine.

Choose Church House for your next event – the net zero venue where sustainability, creativity, expertise and heart come together in perfect balance.