BUSINESSES will get the chance to entertain guests in opulent splendour as the National Trust launches eight of its historic sites, including Sutton Hoo and the West Wing at Ickworth, as private function venues.

BUSINESSES will get the chance to entertain guests in opulent splendour as the National Trust launches eight of its historic sites, including Sutton Hoo and the West Wing at Ickworth, as private function venues.

The conservation body will launch the function properties at RSVP, the country's prominent corporate hospitality trade show at Olympia, London, on March 29 and 30.

It plans to offer clients a unique opportunity to entertain their guests in historic surroundings at gala dinners, product launches, meetings or training, and aims to provide them with a luxury and customised experience.

Its new portfolio of private function venues also include Basildon Park, Berkshire, Osterley park, Isleworth, Mottisfont Abbey, Hampshire, Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, and Blickling Hall, Norfolk.

The independent charity is reliant upon income from membership fees, donations and legacies, and revenue raised from commercial operations.

Since 1895, when it was founded, it has expanded to care for more than 248,000 hectares of countryside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, more than 700 miles of coastline and more than 200 buildings and gardens of outstanding interest and importance. It invests more than £160million in the nation's environmental infrastructure.

“The new functions business will be an important revenue stream to help the National Trust continue its vital work to protect and conserve our environment and heritage for future generations to enjoy,” said Sue Wilkinson, member and visitor marketing director.

“The venue is a vital component to a successful function and the trust has many unusual and distinctive aspects that really enhance an occasion.

“Some of the most magnificent and spectacular heritage properties are owned and operated by the National Trust, from Osterley Park in Isleworth which was designed by Robert Adam, the most renowned interior designer of the 18th century, Basildon Park, Berkshire, which was one of the locations for the recent Pride and Prejudice film, to Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, where the daughter of Rudyard Kipling resided,” said Alice Ogilvie, the trust's events and functions manager.

The spectacular rooms, from the intimate to the magnificent, will be able to host functions for from 10 to 100 guests, while the grounds can hold up to 500 in a marquee.

The trust's function teams will guide clients so they make the best use of the surroundings and tailor-make the function to suit their requirements.