Corporate hospitality may be shifting towards lifestyle or leisure-orientated events and away from sporting events, according to research by event organiser Beyond Certainty.
The London-based company polled 80 of its highest-spending corporate clients and found that more respondents preferred a lifestyle event to a day watching sport.
The most popular choice with 14.4% of the votes was a VIP backstage pass to a pop concert or rock festival. Second and third went to live events and theatre tickets, while the highest scoring sporting option was VIP tickets to tennis at Wimbledon, Queens Club or Eastbourne, getting 10.5% of votes.
But Simon Swift, head of catering at Lords cricket ground, hasn't noticed a drop in corporate customers.
He said the first four days of the opening test match in the Ashes series last week were completely sold out.
"We have experienced our busiest summer for corporate hospitality in years. However, the corporate market has diversified and operators have to consistently develop new and innovative ways to attract business."