Research
Comparing UK organisers by size and turnover
CloserStill and Nineteen Group chairman Phil Soar looks at two independent studies shining a light on the largest organisers currently operating from the UK
W hich are the largest exhibition groups in the UK ? An easy question to ask and a difficult one to answer . Unlike most other industries , there is barely ever a ‘ Top 100 ’ article about our businesses .
Below is independent research by Plural Strategy covering the companies with the largest annual exhibition turnover in the UK .
There are several caveats . The numbers are based on annual reports , Companies House filings and public pronouncements in the period from 2019 to early 2024 .
The year of the latest info is given on the graph below . Where there is no year stated , the numbers are Plural ’ s estimate from recent statements ( some companies don ’ t always isolate UK turnover from worldwide numbers ). Hence , this is a very well-researched ‘ best estimate ’ but it cannot be perfect .
In the case of both Clarion ( DSEi being its biggest event ) and Farnborough ( with the Air Show ), allowance has been made to ‘ smooth ’ these large biennials – otherwise an ‘ on ’ year would show far higher revenue than an ‘ off ’ year . ( Hence the letter B ). In addition , Clarion ’ s second largest UK event , ICE will now be staged in Barcelona .
Note also that not all companies have 31 December year ends – these numbers are all for a single 12-month period , but not the same 12 months in every case .
The difficulties of isolating only UK revenues The material has been prepared by Plural as part of its ongoing and continually updated analysis of the market .
What is immediately striking is how small the UK turnover is compared with the total size of each of these businesses .
Informa ’ s UK turnover is less than 1 % of its worldwide sales . RX ’ s is circa 7 % of worldwide sales , Clarion ’ s is perhaps 9 %. Even CloserStill , which had zero non-UK turnover at all for the first half of its life , now has 72 % of sales outside its home market .
CloserStill is a surprising number two as it does not have a £ 20m + behemoth ( Clarion has DSEi , Hyve has Spring and Autumn Fair , RX has WTM ). CloserStill has no show with an eight-figure turnover but does have seven events turning over more than £ 4m in the UK alone , only one of which was acquired .
Nineteen , having been founded only in 2018 , owes its place to the massive growth of Safety and Security , Installer and Retail Technology .
Informa / UBM would probably have topped the table ten years ago with Interiors , EcoBuild , IFSEC , IPEX and others but has reduced its efforts in the UK .
Media10 is the only mainly consumer show organiser in this list of 11 . This again shows how the world has changed in the past 10-15 years . A list of the top dozen in 2010 would certainly have contained SMMT ( Motor Show ), the Boat Shows and other consumer organisers such as Brand Events and BBC / Haymarket .
What about worldwide turnover ? Colin Morrison , owner of Flashes and Flames , has taken an increasing interest in the sector in recent years and has a solid , objective view .
24 Issue 3 2024 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk