Blog. Back to the Floor 5

A record breaker of a night.

On Friday 8th April we marked the welcome return of Back to the Floor in association with Caterer.com.

After a long hiatus in our events calendar we hoped the night would produce something special. And it didn't disappoint! Back to the floor was truly joyous, hilarious, humbling, emotional – and beyond our wildest dreams.

A staggering total of £250,000 was raised on the night, making it our most successful fundraising event ever by quite some margin.

Over the last two years we have been fortunate to receive unerring support from all corners of the industry; you have found new ways to support us during the darkest of times. To see such a fantastic room filled with wonderful people enjoying themselves and giving so generously in our name was a truly humbling experience for the whole HA team and reminded us just how amazing it is to be back together again.

Our thanks go to Sally Beck and her magnificent team at the Royal Lancaster London for hosting us so generously; and to Philip Newman-Hall and Danny Pecorelli for hatching such a wonderful idea and gifting us the concept of Back to the Floor, tirelessly supporting each event.

Thanks to Jeremy Rata of Hospitality Photographic for the wonderful photos and to London Essentials for their truly outstanding performances.

Thank you to headline sponsor Caterer.com, and event sponsors; Exclusive Collection, Umbrella Training, Sky UK, QIA Services and Bunzl Catering Supplies. 

And thanks to key supporters Laurent-Perrier and Hoxton Gin for the drinks reception; Hatch Mansfield and Matthew Clark for the wines enjoyed during dinner; Belu and Oranka Juice Solutions for the soft drinks, and lastly, Wellocks for the meal that we all thoroughly enjoyed. 

The evening's proceedings were kept on track thanks to the amazing skills of Peter Hancock, Toastmaster and Auctioneer extraordinaire. Keeping the evening on track and our service team in check, took steely determination and guile.

Special thanks go to our partners TipJar whose innovative technology transformed our fundraising. Armed with their own personal QR codes, our waiters and sommeliers were able to fundraise online before the event, and guests could tip in real time on the evening. There's no doubt it made a huge difference.

Finally, many thanks to all our guests who participated in the evening’s fundraising and to all who donated a prize towards our auctions and prize draw.

To raise a quarter of a million pounds in one evening is nothing short of magical, and it'll transform the lives of thousands of hospitality households in crisis.

Visit our photo gallery to see more photo from the evening. 

Keep an eye on our events calendar to see what events we have coming up near you. Or, if you’d like to host an event of your own to raise much needed funds please get in touch.