British exhibitions group Hyve puts Russian businesses up for sale
British exhibitions group Hyve said this morning that it has proposed to sell its Russian business to Rise Expo for a maximum price of £72m.
On the decision, Mark Shashoua, chief executive of Hyve Group said: “While we have not taken the decision to exit the Russian market lightly, the sale of the Russian business does accelerate our strategy to focus on omnichannel products in developed geographies”.
Russia has been a legacy of the company since 1991 and Hyve said the exit “creates value for shareholders and some security for the teams who have served the company so well for over 30 years”.
The firm also posted that it had delivered revenue of approximately £58m in the first half of the year, excluding Russian revenues of around £17m, underpinned by the reopening of western markets.
The group ran a total of 21 in-person events, excluding seven Russian events, in the first half of the year. This compares to only seven in 2021.
Forward booking for the full year are currently £103m, excluding bookings for Russian and Ukrainian events; this demonstrates the continued realisation of pent-up demand for in-person events as key shows return.
With the exception of China, a full schedule of events is expected to run in the financial year, thanks to the continued relaxation of COVID-19 related restrictions.
The company also snapped up 121 Group and Fintech Meetup, which boosted its presence in the US and Western Europe.