The European event and exhibition management market comprises players that organise and execute trade shows, conferences, expos, conventions and other gatherings across various industries. We segmented the European market by the nature of players’ business models into: (i) venue operators, (ii) event managers, (iii) logistics service providers and (iv) integrated service providers.

The European landscape has a consolidated nature, with each segment being characterised by a handful of dominant larger (but mostly local) incumbents and a long tail of smaller regional players. The industry faced severe repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, with players experiencing significant sales declines in 2020-2021. At the same time, however, this created a window of opportunity for strategic M&A. Primarily, larger incumbents have been searching for distressed acquisition opportunities in an attempt to implement geocloning growth strategies and increase their brand portfolio. As such, industry experts (interviews by Gain.pro) foresee further market consolidation in the medium term.

Sponsor-led interest has been moderate, with ~55% of identified assets being backed by financial sponsors (June 2023). Event managers and integrated service providers have experienced the greatest PE-led interest due to their strong cash flows and high revenue visibility from forward bookings. However, sponsor-driven interest has been considerably lower over the last ~2-3 years as a result of the pandemic. As the industry rebounds over the coming years, there is a great window of opportunity for investors to step in again and capitalise on players’ top- and bottom-line recovery.

ESG issues primarily relate to environmental topics. The transportation of attendees, exhibitors and equipment to and from events results in substantial carbon emissions. Another area of concern relates to event waste. From a social perspective, players attempt to contribute in the form of social contributions, thereby emphasising employee training and development, as well as by distributing excess food and organising giveaways to non-profits and underprivileged individuals.