Interview
UK ’ s Pendigo Events answers organiser concerns
Anthony Mitchell , managing director of Pendigo Events , Birmingham NEC ’ s new in-house organiser arm , answers the questions organisers have been asking EW ’ s Mike Fletcher to put to him
n April 2024 , the NEC
I
Birmingham in the UK launched an in-house organiser arm called
Pendigo Events . Initial reactions from the UK organiser community ranged from suspicion – “ Will another venue launch against one of its customers ?”; “ Will the NEC share my visitor data with its organising division ?” – to outrage : “ This will open future conflicts with NEC customers ”; “ Venues should work with entrepreneurs to get shows into their venues , not against them .” “ Why should Pendigo get preferential rates on parking , hall space etc ?” was another question . Pendigo ’ s first bit of business was to rescue the struggling NEC-based marine consumer exhibition , BoatLife . It then added four events for fitness enthusiasts , two of which were , again , already held at the Midlands venue .
The questions kept coming : “ Is Pendigo only a vehicle for breathing new life into fledgling or failing shows within the NEC halls ?” “ Will it eventually launch shows of its own ? How will that work ?” “ What happens if an NEC customer wants to buy an exhibition already in talks with Pendigo ?” The answer to this last question came in August when the three association owners of the Commercial Vehicle Show approached Pendigo for help . Nineteen Group , which runs shows at the NEC , was also interested in becoming the three-day event ’ s strategic partner . According to Peter Jones , Nineteen Group CEO , as soon as Pendigo was made aware of Nineteen Group ’ s interest , it backed away leaving him and the Institute of Road Transport Engineers ( IRTE ), the Road Haulage Association ( RHA ) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
Above : Anthony Mitchell
( SMMT ) to strike a deal . Still , there are plenty more questions that organisers need answers to , so EW sat down with Anthony Mitchell , Pendigo Events ’ managing director to get his responses . This is what he had to say …
Tell us a bit about you and your background . I ’ ve been in the industry for 24 years . For Media10 I was involved with running the Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace and the launch of Design Shanghai in China , before becoming head of sales for Mack Brooks Exhibitions in 2016 . More recently , I was sales director of the Pub in the Park Festival with Tom Kerridge .
When were you appointed MD of Pendigo Events ? At the start of 2024 I received a call inviting me to speak with NEC Group MD Exhibitions Ian Taylor and Opus Origin chairman / NEC advisor Simon Kimble . They told me about the project , and it sounded exciting . I was then appointed MD of NEC Group Events in April 2024 . Six weeks later we renamed it Pendigo Events .
Left : NEC Birmingham
What was Taylor and Kimble ’ s pitch ? Originally , they wanted to create an in-house capability which could fill NEC halls with owned content during those times of the year when the halls are empty . The concept has since become something broader and more beneficial for the industry because events were struggling .
34 Issue 6 2024 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk