NEWS
Draft Martyn ’ s Law published
The UK Government has published its draft Terrorism ( Protection of Premises ) Bill . The bill , also known as Martyn ’ s Law , aims to outline the counterterrorism activities required for events taking place at a variety of venues . The bill also introduces a regulator , with the power to inspect and enforce the requirements under the law . The regulator will have the power to hand out sanctions and penalties for noncompliance . Fines for non-compliance will be up to £ 10,000 for events with less than 100 attendees and up to £ 18m , or 5 % of worldwide revenue , for events with a capacity of more than 800 . Martyn ’ s Law ’ is a tribute to Martyn Hett who was killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017 . Hett ’ s mother Figen Murray said the law will “ make crowded places better protected and prepared , and make the terrorists ’ job that bit harder .” The bill is currently in draft format and will be subject to prelegislative scrutiny by the Home Affairs Select Committee , ahead of formal introduction .
In the spotlight
The stories , topics and trends making headlines in recent weeks .
GL Events secures new £ 60m credit line
International event organiser and venue operator GL events announced the early refinancing of its € 150m (£ 132m ) revolving credit facility ( RCF ) and has also secured a new € 70m (£ 60m ) credit line . GL events has now successfully completed the refinancing of its bank debt . This has included securing a new term loan in the amount of € 70m , repayable over a period of five years . In addition , GL events refinanced in advance a € 150m revolving credit facility ( RCF ) with a five-year maturity and an optional two-year extension at the company ’ s initiative .
Olivier Ginon , chairman- CEO of GL events Group , commented : “ GL events welcomes the conclusion of this refinancing agreement which extends the maturity of its financial debt and reflects our strategy of further reducing our gross debt at the end of 2023 and supporting the Group ’ s development . It is also a testimony to our banking partners ’ continuing confidence in our business model and I sincerely thank them for their unwavering support over the years .”
Ends of an era for Emslie
CEO Douglas Emslie marked his final day at Tarsus , the trade show company he built over 25 years and sold for almost $ 1bn . Informa completed the acquisition of Tarsus , from Charterhouse Capital Partners for a price of $ 940m (£ 755m ) in a combination of cash and shares on 17 April . Emslie said : “ It ’ s the end of an era , it was a very emotional day as I stepped down as CEO of Tarsus and become an advisor to Informa . It has been both an honour and a privilege to have led the business for the last 25 years , we ’ ve accomplished a lot over that time . “ I would like to finish up by saying thank you to all Tarsus employees and also to past employees and partners , who have helped to build the business over the last 25 years into a worldclass business . It was an emotional day and as I stand back and reflect on everything it ’ s with nothing but gratitude .” The so-called ‘ mega deal ’ saw the world ’ s largest trade show company add 160 well-respected competitor events to its portfolio . Emslie said having shares in the combined business was important to see post-pandemic recovery in Tarsus ’ business as well as the wider recovery of the industry .
06 — Summer