With business becoming incressingly global, the issue of meetings is becoming critical. Even for a big multi-national company, it is expensive and time consuming to arrange for staff from different continents to be at the same place at the same time.

Annual general meetings can be an even bigger headache. For some, the answer lies in video conferencing, but laying on the equipment, the meeting room space and the catering and accommodation can be a logistical problem.

Dedicated conference space, particularly in Oxford, has been limited but now a new venture promises to offer a genuine alternative to otherwise busy hotels and college facilities.

Conference Centre Oxford on Park End Street is a newly-renovated building dedicated to hosting meetings, lectures, presentations and even weddings and parties.

It has been set up by Roger and Fafar Watts who, for the last 12 years, have run Apartments in Oxford — 34 serviced apartments behind the conference centre building.

They are used for short stays by visiting business people, academics and other visitors, including wedding parties, as an alternative to hotels and enjoy an occupancy of up to 85 per cent.

Now the aim is to tie in the apartments with the conference centre, offering a one-stop-shop for accommodation and a venue for seminars, lectures and meetings.

Executive director Fafar Watts said: “We have a niche market with the apartments and we thought why not have our own conference centre? There is a natural synergy between the two businesses.”

The Watts are directors of Cantay Investments, which is the parent company of Apartments in Oxford.

Cantay can trace its roots back to 1830, with the Cannock Chase Coal In the summer months, when there was less demand for coal, the business operated as a removal firm.

After the Second World War, group captain Tony Trotter, a shareholder in the business, came out of the RAF and acquired removal and shipping business Taylors of Fleet, and then the two companies merged to form Cantay.

His son, David, is still chairman of Cantay. He sold off the removals business in the late 1980s, but retained a series of buildings, including that now occupied by Conference Centre Oxford, and let them out, helped by his then PA, Mrs Watts.

Mr Watts became involved in the business in 1992 as company secretary, after being made redundant from his job as managing director at Commodore computers, before later becoming managing director.

The Watts see the new £4.5m centre’s position as ideal, being within walking distance of the railway station and the city centre amenities, as well as being in close proximity to the Oxford colleges, particularly the Said Business School.

And they are looking to cash in on the lack of conference facilities within the city centre.

While the colleges can provide a certain amount of space, it is limited, particularly in term time. While there is no parking, the aim is to highlight the venue’s green credentials, not just in terms of transport with the rail connection, but through the use of state-of-the-art materials and lighting.

Mr Watts has also been keen to put his IT background to good use by incorporating the latest video conferencing technology which, he argues, allows international meetings to take place without delegates having to fly anywhere.

He said: “We have tried to be green in terms of location, a place to stay and with our energy usage, as well as in the context of creative conferencing.

“And there is growing demand to be environmentally-friendly from clients.”

But being green does not mean the fixtures and fittings have been toned down. Mr Watts (pictured right) claims the centre boasts Oxford’s largest sign at 41 metres long, which also illuminates impressively in the evening.

And 14 TV screens, each 42 inches, will display news channels, advertising and information about the centre and events taking place there.

Mr Watts said: “If someone wants to watch the Oscars live, there is a satellite link.”

A new marbled entrance and staircase is currently being constructed, leading to the larger function rooms accommodating up to 300, while two other rooms will hold a combined total of 280.

There is also a boardroom seating 24, and there are plans to develop the top floor of the building, freeing up another 5,000 sq ft of space.

The centre will also have its own bar and catering, which will be provided inhouse to enhance the one-stop-shop service which, of course, can stretch to accommodation.

In all, about 40 jobs are being created. But is a recession a good time to be establishing such an ambitious venture?

Mr Watts said: “We have been planning this for years and now the finance is in place, and it is coming to fruition. “I have set up businesses in times of recession before and they have been very successful.”