Interview
Summit is where the industry ' s future is shaped. Together they create a much stronger proposition than either could on its own.
PadelXpo EW: Exciting news with your launch of PadelXpo at the NEC in the UK next June. What are your expectations? Sport and outdoor isn’ t simply a sector we operate in – it’ s what we live and breathe.
Padel is one of those rare sports that feels like it ' s reached a real tipping point. Participation is accelerating, investment is pouring in and an entire ecosystem of brands, clubs, coaches, destinations and technology is developing around it. That’ s exactly the right moment to create a platform that connects the whole industry.
When you build something that genuinely serves both the industry and the consumer community, the response can be incredible. We haven’ t seen this level of excitement around a launch since we first announced The National Running Show.
EW: What would a good inaugural edition look like in numbers? We’ re targeting around 10,000 visitors and 150 brands, alongside a dedicated B2B programme that we expect will attract around 1,000 industry professionals.
More important than the numbers, though, is creating an event that the industry immediately feels ownership of. If people leave believing PadelXpo has become the annual meeting place for the sport, we’ ll have achieved exactly what we set out to do.
EW: It is approaching ten years since you launched the National Running Show. How do you reflect on that trajectory as we approach the January 2027 anniversary edition? In many ways it feels like yesterday, yet when you look back at what the team has built over the last decade it ' s something we’ re incredibly proud
of. What ' s most exciting, though, is that it still feels like we’ re only just getting started.
The National Running Show opened so many doors for us. It remains the brand people most closely associate with Raccoon, but today we’ re a very different business. We now operate around 25 events internationally, around 60 % of our business is B2B, and we work across three specialist sectors: sport and outdoor, disability and animal health. Our ambition over the next decade is to continue evolving Raccoon into a globally recognised events business while never losing the entrepreneurial mindset that got us here.
EW: Is Raccoon looking to add more shows to its portfolio? Growth has always been part of our DNA. We believe businesses stay innovative by continually creating, so alongside acquisitions we’ re always looking at where we can launch new events that genuinely add value to the industries we serve.
Geographically, our focus remains the US, Europe and the Middle East, where we see significant long-term opportunities. PadelXpo is just one example of our growth strategy. In addition, we have five further event launches taking place across our international portfolio.
Sport and outdoor is undoubtedly where we see the greatest opportunity. People are investing more time and money into active lifestyles than ever before, and brands increasingly need places where they can connect with passionate communities face to face. We expect sport and outdoor to represent around 90 % of our business within the next five years.
EW: How do you assess the state of the exhibition industry now compared to ten years ago? In my 25 years in the events industry, this is the most exciting period. We’ ve seen private equity investing heavily in IRL experiences over recent months because people increasingly recognise the value of genuine human connection. Technology and AI have transformed how we communicate, but they’ ve also reminded us that trust is still built face to face.
We’ ll undoubtedly continue to see consolidation as investment flows into the sector and larger organisers acquire specialist businesses. But, if there’ s one thing I’ d encourage our industry not to lose, it’ s its entrepreneurial spirit. The next generation of great events won’ t come from playing safe. They’ ll come from people willing to challenge convention, take measured risks and build something the market doesn’ t yet know it needs.
That’ s how Raccoon started, and it’ s still very much how we think today. EW www. exhibitionworld. co. uk Issue 4 2026 13