From Warehouse Shell to Launch Venue: Finsa UK's Opening Event at Birkenhead Docks

Most of the spaces we work in were built with guests in mind. Hotels, cathedrals, castles and purpose-built venues all come with a head start: flooring, lighting, a kitchen, somewhere to hang a coat. A brand-new distribution warehouse on a working dock comes with none of that. It comes with concrete, racking, roller doors and an awful lot of height.

That was the starting point when Finsa UK Ltd asked RG Events & Floral to deliver the official launch of their new warehouse at Birkenhead Docks on 18th September 2026. The brief was simple to say and harder to do: take an industrial shell and turn it into a space where 80 invited guests, including representatives of the Spanish Embassy, would feel properly welcomed.

The brief

Finsa UK is part of the Spanish Finsa group, a long-established name in wood-based panels and timber products. The new Birkenhead facility is a significant investment in their UK operation and in the Wirral waterfront, and the launch needed to reflect that. It was a business milestone with a diplomatic guest list, so the event had to feel considered and professional from the moment people walked through the door.

The client wanted one supplier to take ownership of the whole day rather than coordinating a caterer, a bar company, a furniture hire firm and an AV provider separately. Our scope covered:

• A fully staffed drinks bar

• A hot and cold buffet with a grazing board

• Front-of-house and service staff

• All furniture and equipment, including poseur tables

• Company-branded décor throughout the space

• A lectern and PA system for the formal speeches

One supplier, one point of contact, one plan.

Designing a guest experience inside an industrial space

The biggest challenge with a warehouse is scale. Eighty guests can look lost in a building designed for forklifts, so the first job was to define the event footprint: creating a clear, contained area within the building that felt like a room in its own right, with a natural flow from arrival, to the bar, to the food, to the speeches.

Poseur tables did much of the work here. For a standing reception they keep people moving and talking, they break up a large floor area, and they give the space a rhythm that rows of seated tables never would. We positioned them to draw guests through the space rather than letting everyone gather at the entrance.

The branded décor tied everything back to Finsa. Rather than trying to disguise the warehouse, we worked with it. The building was the reason everyone was there, so the styling framed it rather than hid it, with the company's identity carried through [the bar frontage / signage / backdrop / table dressing.

An alcohol-free bar that still felt like an occasion

Finsa operates an alcohol-free policy on site, which is increasingly common for corporate events held in working premises. We built the bar around it rather than treating it as a restriction. Guests were greeted with an alcohol-free welcome drink, and the bar served soft drinks and mocktails throughout, with the same glassware, garnishes and service standards we'd bring to any reception.

[Add one or two of the mocktails served, e.g. the signature serve, if there was one.]

It's worth saying for anyone planning a similar event: a well-run mocktail bar gives guests the same focal point and the same sense of hospitality, and nobody has to worry about the drive home or the afternoon back at the office.

Catering for 80 on a dockside

Feeding 80 people in a building with no kitchen takes planning. Everything had to arrive ready, be held at the right temperature and be served safely, with our own equipment on site from start to finish.

We served a hot and cold buffet alongside a grazing board, a format that suits a standing reception well. Guests can eat when it suits them, conversations aren't interrupted by a formal sit-down, and the grazing board gives the room a visual centrepiece as well as something to pick at while the speeches are being set up.

The formal moment

Every launch has a point where the room needs to stop and listen. With embassy representatives and senior Finsa leadership speaking, clear sound was essential, and warehouses are notoriously unforgiving acoustically. We supplied and set up the lectern and PA, positioned so that speakers could be seen and heard from anywhere in the event area, and tested in the space before guests arrived.

Delivered on a tight timeline

From first conversation to event day, this was a short lead time for a project of this scope. We presented the client with a clear proposal, complete with concept visuals showing how the space would look, so the decision could be made quickly and with confidence. Once confirmed, our team handled the logistics, the load-in on a working dock site, the set-up, the service and the full clear-down afterwards, leaving the warehouse ready for business.

Planning a corporate launch, opening or open day?

RG Events & Floral is best known for weddings, but the same skills apply to corporate work: taking a space, understanding what the client needs it to say, and delivering it without them having to chase six different suppliers. We've delivered everything from awards galas in cathedrals to launch events on the docks.

If you're opening new premises, launching a product or hosting clients anywhere across Wirral, Liverpool or Cheshire, we'd be glad to talk it through.

Email: sales@rgevents.co.uk WhatsApp: 07783 582092

Frequently asked questions

Can you run an event in a warehouse, factory or other non-traditional space? Yes. We bring everything required, including furniture, bar, catering equipment, staff, styling and sound, so the space only needs to be safe and accessible.

Do you offer alcohol-free bars for corporate events? Yes. We regularly provide soft drink and mocktail bars for workplaces with alcohol-free policies, served to the same standard as a full bar.

How many guests can you cater for? This event was for 80 guests, and we regularly work with both smaller and considerably larger numbers. Packages are built around your guest list and your space.

How much notice do you need? More is always better, but as this project shows, we can turn a complete event around on a short timeline when a client needs it.

What areas do you cover? Wirral, Liverpool and Cheshire, along with the wider North West.