We are heading for the busiest year for M&A in the exhibition sector since records began (well – since our records began back in 2010). In 2014 we recorded a high of 75 separate transactions and, with 47 in the first six months of this year, 2018 seems well on track to beat this. Not only are the number of transactions increasing but the value of transactions is also much higher with the £3.9bn (US$5.12bn) takeover of UBM by Informa leading the way.

The number of potential buyers is also at a high with long-standing trade buyers like Reed and Informa competing with private equity driven trade groups, such as Clarion, Comexposium and Emerald, and with other private equity firms very keen to get into the exhibition space. All of this has meant that multiples are currently very high.

However, beneath all these headlines there is another trend emerging – as entrepreneurs see the prices being paid for exhibition businesses there is a move from creating events to serve a sector which at some stage can be sold to creating events in order to sell them. Given that traditional sectors are already well served it is the new spaces that are attracting attention. There are a plethora of events targeting Fintech, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence etc., and, given the content-heavy nature of the subject, these are often conference-led with a smattering of sponsors/stands. This format means that they can take place in smaller conference centres so the barriers to entry are lower as it’s no longer a case of choosing one or two logical exhibition venues which limit the number of similar events through their theme protection policies.

At the same time, some of the entrepreneurs behind these launches are deciding to try and sell the business very early in the cycle, well before they have matured enough to show proof of concept and longevity. All the events have great speakers but it is very hard to see who, if anyone, is establishing a market-leading position and creating real growth by establishing repeatable revenue streams.