July 2021

FUNCTION VENUES
Land for Events
Could your land play host to public events?
asks Charlotte Winship
IF YOU are fortunate to sit on a significant
piece of land then you could be of great
interest to outdoor event organisers.
You may even be tempted to organise
something yourself. However, be it a
partnership agreement, dry hire or inhouse,
creating events requires careful
consideration.
As with any new business venture it pays
to do your homework and make a plan.
Planning a public event is definitely not for
the faint-hearted but it is a lot of fun and the
euphoria at the end of a successful show is
hard to beat.
Do not underestimate the amount of
work that goes into planning any size of
event. Administration, sales, marketing,
coordination, operations, security, health
and safety, legal liability, infrastructure
etc. The larger the event the bigger the
workload but smaller events do still require
plenty of planning, particularly if you
have not hosted one before. How much
involvement will you have? Do you have
the capacity to take on an event yourself or
should you consider hiring a professional?
Should you consider simply renting your
land out to an event organiser?
1
CHOOSE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL
Before you start you need decide on
your business model. Renting your
land to an organiser is certainly the most
simple route and will be preferable if you
are already very busy and just looking for a
straightforward income supplement. The
income you achieve from renting your land
will be determined by a number of factors.
The size and type of event, the attractiveness
of your event site, the location, what existing
facilities you can offer and the competition.
Before you enter into any discussion with
an organiser, decide how much you need to
derive from each event to make it worth your
while. Speak to other local landowners about
their experience and find out their hire rate.
You will still carry some liability for public
safety but essentially you are simply the host
“IF YOU ARE ENTERING INTO
A CONTRACT WITH A THIRD
PARTY, FIND OUT AS MUCH AS
YOU CAN ABOUT THE EVENT
ORGANISER BEFOREHAND”
and the event organiser is responsible for
everything else. Agree a hire fee for the use of
your land and consider adding a refundable
damage deposit.
If you are hosting and organising the
event yourself then you may achieve a better
income however with this comes increased
investment in both time and money. It also
brings increased risk. Outdoor public events
are notoriously high risk; the British weather
is increasingly unpredictable and it can often
take several years for new events to turn a
significant profit. You may want to consider
profit share with the event organiser though
this partnership also carries similar risks.
If you are entering into a contract with
a third party, find out as much as you can
about the event organiser beforehand. As the
landowner you still carry liability and duty
of care over members of the public visiting
your land. It is also your name attached to
the property and your reputation as a future
events holder that you need to protect. Who
are they? What experience do they have?
Where have they worked previously? Do they
have all the correct licences, insurances,
policies etc? Don’t be afraid to ask for a
reference from another landowner. If you
are already in possession of a Premises
Licence then it may also be wise to ask the
event organiser to make their own licensing
arrangements – you do not want your future
license jeopardised by the activities of
another event organiser.
Before entering into any formal
arrangement, I strongly advise seeking
legal advice and asking a lawyer to help you
to draw up a Licence To Occupy. This is a
contract for an event organiser to use your
land for a set period and purpose under
specific terms and conditions. Make sure
your contract defines limits of liability and
obligations of responsibility relating to health
and safety. It should also specify required
insurances, indemnities and recovery of costs
in case anything goes wrong.
2
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION
Outdoor events are seasonal; spring,
summer, early autumn and Christmas.
Will the event interrupt any other business
activities such as weddings or holiday letting?
Will your other business activities have an
impact on the success of the event?
Are you farming the land? How long can
you feasibly set-aside land? No-one wants to
be dancing in cow-pats or sitting on stubble!
A freshly mown, soft, grassy, dry meadow is
ideal!
24 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM