Meetings and events industry association Eventia recently announced that it has contracted the British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) to provide its association management and administration service with effect from 1 April.

Eventia's registered office and administration systems will be located at the BACD offices in central Birmingham, although Eventia's executive director, Izania Downie, will continue to operate from her London base. The BACD executive team, comprising Tony Rogers, Tracy Johnson, Sarah Malkin and Julia Lewis, will be strengthened through the appointment of Harpreet Tumber as membership services executive. She will provide a range of recruitment, communications and support activities for Eventia members.

"We are very pleased to formalise the relationship with BACD in this way," said Downie. "Eventia is a rapidly growing organisation, and tapping into the dedicated, wider resource and experience afforded by the BACD team can only help to expedite our growth and development. We also very much welcome the opportunities to establish productive partnerships between our respective memberships for mutual benefit."

Meanwhile, Rob Allen, Chair of Eventia, commented: "The management contract between Eventia and BACD is quite separate from the discussions already announced of a potential merger between the two organisations. However, this new relationship clearly presents great practical opportunities to develop the synergies that already exist before any actual merger is formalised."