01 Chairman’s Statement 2 02 Chief Executive’s Statement 3 03 W5 Achievements & Performances 4 04 SSE Arena Achievements & Performances 8 05 The Belfast Giants 12 06 Corporate Social Responsibility In Action 13 07 Trading Activities 14 08 Corporate Governance 15 09 Overview of Financial Statements 15 10 Boards of Trustees / Directors & Executive Team 17 1 1 Chairman’s Statement 2015 has been another significant year in the ongoing Northeastern and Colgate played over the weekend development of Odyssey with record attendances in W5 of Thanksgiving for the Belpot trophy. The tournament and the Arena. We embarked on a major refurbishment was made possible as a result of funding being secured and modernisation programme in the Arena that had all from the Boston/Belfast sister city initiative, DCAL, DEL, of the seating replaced; installation of Arena wide wifi; Tourism NI, Citi and the American State Department. commissioning of an IPTV in house television system and This tournament was a tremendous success and I am the launch of a first for the industry in the releasing of delighted that it is returning next year again with four the SSE Arena App for android and iPhone. new teams. After 15 years we are also delighted to have signed a The Odyssey Trust continues to pursue a solution to the ten year naming rights agreement with SSE Airtricity to future development of the Odyssey Pavilion and I am rename the Arena the SSE Arena. This naming rights hopeful that 2016 will be the year in which we see a new partnership will assist us in making sure that our Arena dawn in the Pavilion offer and I hope that we can reach a remains in the World top 30 Arenas for rock and pop conclusion that adds to the Odyssey success. music. As a charity the Odyssey Trust is committed to all of W5 continues to set new standards of excellence for its founding principles. The Board will continue to seek the delivery of science and discovery. I was particularly opportunities to enhance and enable development on It gives me great pleasure to present pleased with the role that W5 played in the Friendship the site for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland. my first report as Chairman of the Four International Ice Hockey NCAA tournament by I would like to thank the management and staff who Odyssey Trust Company Limited. conceiving and delivering a festival of Science, Technology, under the leadership of our CEO, Mr Robert Fitzpatrick, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for nearly 12,000 continue to raise the bar in terms of their commitment I would like to pay tribute to my children in November. W5 continues to be the leading and delivery of initiatives and events that keep Odyssey predecessor, Mr Brian Burke, for his delivery agent of the STEM agenda and I look forward the World Class Facility that it is. leadership of the Board and to all my to the government renewing the STEMNET contract to allow W5 to continue to reach out through over 1000 ERIC PORTER - Chairman fellow board members. As volunteer STEM Ambassadors. The Odyssey Trust Company Limited directors they have demonstrated the highest standards of governance and The Belfast Giants celebrated their 15th season in dedication to their responsibilities across existence by holding an International Ice Hockey the various companies and committees Tournament called the Friendship Four under the that make up the Odyssey Group of auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Companies. (NCAA). Four college US teams, Brown, UMass Lowell, 2 2 Chief Executive’s Statement Let’s remind ourselves of 2015 some more trophies for us to celebrate. There is no In the year when the Tall Ships graced our quays again doubting that after 15 years Ice Hockey has become we hosted over 150 shows of different artists in the a permanent fixture in the psyche of the Northern Arena and W5 once again broke their own record of Ireland sports fan and I look forward to exciting new attendances for a calendar year. Notwithstanding the developments here in 2016 both on and off the ice. activity, we also embarked on an ambitious 10 week Arena development programme in tandem with the There were two new director appointments to the launch of the new naming rights agreement with SSE Executive Team and it is indeed my pleasure to welcome Airtricity. Mr Adrian Doyle and Mr Nigel Robbins to the Odyssey Trust. I have often said that the backbone of any I am very proud to report that all of this work and organisation is its staff and we are blessed at Odyssey to partnering was achieved on time and on budget and is have a world class staff who continue to raise the bar and testament to the Staff that are so dedicated to making outperform previous standards that have been set. I wish Odyssey a ‘World Class’ location for the people of to acknowledge their performance in 2015 and thank Northern Ireland. them most sincerely – it is my humble pleasure to lead such a great team. We have also embraced the digital age with the installation of site wide 4G wifi, 200+ interactive screens I said that 2015 was going to be a transformation year and an industry first – a fully inclusive App for both for Odyssey and we were not disappointed. I have no The highlight of the year 2015 was the IPhones and Android that services all of our business. We doubt that we will take another step forward in 2016 hosting of the NCAA Friendship Four have had over 20,000 downloads which when added to and I hope and trust that the Pavilion will finally return Ice Hockey Tournament in association the 30,000 downloads of the SSE awards membership to its true position as a provider of outstanding family with the sister Festival of STEM in augurs well for the business, promoters, artists and entertainment. W5. It was a great collaborative customers alike. achievement by all of the staff of the All of our efforts whether it is in our CSR activity or a Odyssey Trust in the Arena, Giants I would also like to welcome SSE to the world of part of our customer outreach are to make sure that W5 where they have sponsored the W5 Education you – the customer – get the best experience that we organisation and W5 to deliver an event Programme for the next three years. W5 is to the can deliver. that was televised across Canada and forefront of all things STEM and there are exciting plans I commend the performance in 2015 and look forward New England. This event happened ahead for W5 in 2016. to welcoming many more of you to Odyssey in 2016. in a period when U2 came to town at last and we also hosted the BBC Sports Off the Ice the Giants continue to grow – more season ROBERT FITZPATRICK - Chief Executive Personality of the Year Show – another The Odyssey Trust Company Limited ticket holders, more new sponsors and hopefully soon first for the City and Odyssey!! 3 W5 Achievements 3 & Performance Key Achievements in 2015! 2015 has been an incredibly busy year for the team at W5, covering everything from live performances, cutting edge exhibitions and record numbers of participants at events with over 354,000 people visiting W5, accessing their facilities and taking part in outreach activities, including over 34,000 pupils visiting in formal education groups. W5 Lite at The Outlet continues to attract visitors for taster sessions, and to enhance the visitor experience, an Easter Bunny Hunt was developed for April and a weekly events programme was rolled out over the summer with a mix of Big Dino Draw and Rogue Robots. The facility was also refurbished with new exhibits including Dinosaurs installed over the summer period. However Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) continue to be at the heart of W5’s main focus of activities. Working in partnership with organisations as diverse as the British Council, Northern Ireland Science Festival, UK Space Agency and Cancer Research UK to name a few, W5 aims to engage and inspire young people and their families, making science and learning fun and promoting and showcasing STEM careers, opportunities and competitions in Northern Ireland. W5 continues to work to support the Programme for Government in Northern Ireland, linking initiatives with a wide range of departments including DCAL, DEL, DE and OFMDFM. The demand for educational outreach continues to grow with the team supporting events across Northern Ireland 4 and beyond, including BT Young Scientist and Technologist public lecture. Events also featured Margaret Byrne, Chief of the Year, the Balmoral Show and Further Education Executive of Sunderland Football Club and an alumni initiatives, such as the Salters Festival of Chemistry at of Ulster University Business School, who as part of the North West Regional College and the BEST Awards. The Business School’s Ruby Anniversary celebrations took part STEMNET Contract was extended through to March 2016 in one of W5’s ‘Fantastic Females’ series, targeted at young enabling W5 to continue to deliver this fantastic initiative women in education, exploring the ‘Business of Sport’. to engage young people with role models from all aspects There was something for everyone across the month of STEM. Key achievements of this free programme in including ‘The Physics of Martial Arts’; the ‘Science of Sport’ 2015 include the recruitment of over 1,250 volunteer or ‘Fantastic Plastic’, culminating in the Big STEM event STEM Ambassadors supporting STEM engagement events on Friday 27th November with over 1,000 young people for over 20,000 young people.