| Next edition | 5–6 May 2027 · ExCeL London |
|---|---|
| Starting price | £3,950+ |
| Venue | ExCeL London |
| Next edition | 5–6 May 2027 |
| Sector | HR tech |
| Duration | 2 days |
| Quote turnaround | 48hr |
HR Technologies UK Stand Builders: ExCeL Logistics, the HR Buyer, and What Wins Demos
HR Technologies UK is the UK's leading event for HR and people technology, held each spring at ExCeL London and co-located with Learning Technologies — together drawing well over 15,000 HR, people and L&D professionals. Its exhibitors are the HCM, payroll, ATS, engagement, analytics and people-tech vendors competing for the attention of HR leaders and buyers.
The audience is evaluating software, so the brief is demonstrate plus capture: show the platform solving a real people problem, say clearly which part of the HR stack you serve, and turn two busy days into qualified, booked conversations rather than a pile of scanned badges. A stand that just describes the product loses to one that shows it.
Because it shares a floor with Learning Technologies, your stand also has to be legible to the right buyer — an HR leader, a payroll lead, a talent team — amid a large, mixed people-profession crowd.
For an HR-tech vendor that means designing for a buyer who is shortlisting platforms as they walk: prove the product fast, then give a senior HR or talent leader somewhere to sit and see it properly. The vendors who win here lead with a working demo, not a brochure.
Building at ExCeL London: the rules that shape your stand
ExCeL is a pillar-free hall with around 10m of clear internal height, but your stand does not get all of it. For space-only stands the working height limit at most ExCeL shows is 6m, and anything ExCeL classes as a complex structure — double-deckers, heavy suspended elements, long unsupported spans — triggers a formal sign-off you need to budget time for, not just money.
Complex designs must be submitted with engineering calculations applying a minimum factor of safety of 1.5. An independent structural engineer reviews the drawings and, if satisfied, issues a Certificate of Structural Adequacy at design stage, which releases your Certificate to Build; the same engineer inspects the stand on site during build-up before you can open. Miss a calculation or submit late and you do not build.
Overhead rigging is controlled tightly: all primary rigging to the ceiling is installed exclusively by ExCeL's own team, ordered through ExCeL's webshop and confirmed around 28 days before tenancy for the advance rate. Lightweight static items hang from drop wires up to 50kg; heavier loads are separate, costlier orders.
The smaller rules catch people out too: platforms above 170mm need ramped, accessible access; solid walls along an open gangway edge are generally not allowed; only water-based paint may be used on site; and every structure must be fully self-supporting. We design to all of this from the first sketch and submit the venue paperwork, so the build you approve is the build that opens.
What a winning HR tech stand needs
The strongest stands lead with a working demo, not a slogan. We position screens and demo stations so a passer-by sees the platform in use, state the problem you solve and who you solve it for in one clear line, and build structured lead capture into the flow. A comfortable space to sit a senior HR buyer down for a proper walkthrough earns its place, because the valuable conversations here are considered and aren't had standing in the aisle.
Practical detail decides whether the demo lands: screens placed to beat a bright hall's glare, audio that carries without bleeding into the neighbours, and power and connectivity sized with headroom so a live SaaS demo never stalls in front of a prospect.
Designing for the HR buyer
HR buyers scan for relevance and proof, so the stand has to qualify visitors for you: messaging that makes clear which part of the people stack and which use case you address, so the right HR and talent leaders stop and the rest self-select out. We design a clear path from a short demo hook to a seated, detailed conversation, with a natural handover so your specialists spend two days on the right prospects.
Proof carries weight with this audience — a live workflow, a real metric, recognisable customer names — so we design space for evidence rather than for marketing copy, because HR teams buying a platform want to see it work.
What an HR Technologies UK stand costs
A turnkey stand typically runs roughly £3,950–£12,500 for a compact custom build, £12,500–£28,000 for a mid-size build with demo space, AV and a meeting area, and £28,000 and up for a flagship island. The quote is turnkey — design, build, AV mounting, lighting, delivery to ExCeL, install, dismantle and the rigging and electrical paperwork are all included — and the AV count, connectivity and bespoke joinery move the number most.
What you don't pay extra for matters to a budget-watching buyer: the figure is genuinely all-in, so material handling, electrical and last-minute rigging are already accounted for, leaving your attention on the demo, not the invoice.
And because most vendors return every year, the turnkey, reusable approach compounds: your second and third editions start from a known, working build, so budget and attention go on the product story, not on re-solving the stand.
Stand sizes and layouts
Stands run from compact spaces for first-time and start-up vendors up to large islands for established platforms. The layout balances demo visibility with meeting capacity: an open island pulls traffic, while a part-enclosed layout protects scheduled buyer conversations. Open sides matter for a two-day show because they multiply the aisles your demo is seen from, so we orient the key screen and entry to the busiest routes.
Because the floor is shared with Learning Technologies, we make your stand and message clear to the specific buyer you want, rather than assuming everyone passing knows which of the co-located events brought them.
Whatever the size, we protect a seated space for the proper walkthrough, because HR platforms are bought after a real demonstration and conversation, not from a thirty-second pitch in the aisle.
Getting into ExCeL: build-up timing
HR Technologies UK sits in a busy May run at ExCeL, so material-handling, rigging and the electrical contractor book up early and late orders attract surcharges. We confirm your space-only window, order rigging at the advance rate (around 28 days out), coordinate power and data for live demos with the appointed contractor, and crate to a slot that lands the stand inside its window with the demo tested before doors open.
We design the electrical and data layout around your live platform from the start, because reliable connectivity is far cheaper to plan in than to add on site — and a demo that drops out in front of a buyer does real damage.
Reusing your stand between editions
The show is annual and most vendors return, so we build on a modular core, store it and refresh the graphics and demo configuration for each year's product. That keeps cost down and lets the stand track a fast-moving roadmap, and we keep your demo, power and data plan and contractor orders on file so each year's build starts from a known, working setup.
We also keep the demo current between editions, because an HR audience notices a stale product story, and last year's screens undersell this year's platform — so each return is a refresh, not a rebuild.
Next step for your HR Technologies UK stand
Send us your space size, hall position and goals for HR Technologies UK. You'll get a custom 3D concept and a fixed, all-inclusive quote within 48 hours — designed to ExCeL's rules, with structural sign-off built into the timeline if your design needs it. We build in-house and install at ExCeL London, so the stand you approve in the rendering is the stand that opens.
We also design and build exhibition stands for other major UK shows — see the full show calendar for technology, data & digital and beyond, all with the same in-house team, fixed all-in pricing and full venue paperwork.