Leamington events and publishing company sold to international rival
LEAMINGTON Spa-based event management and publishing company Expo Management has been sold to international firm Diversified Business Communications for an undisclosed sum.
Expo Management, which works in the bus, coach and passenger transport sectors, employs 32 people across its two offices in Leamington and Peterborough and Leamington and has a turnover of approximately £3.5m.
Diversified is a media and publishing company headquartered in the US. It employs around 880 staff in the across its seven offices worldwide
Diversified Communications’ UK arm currently turns over around £6m.
Following the sale, Expo Management will be fully integrated into the Diversified corporate structure, however the core product brands of publications and events will remain.
Mark Griffin will be staying on as a group director with a brief to look at target growth opportunities in core sectors.
Steve Smith, partner at Stratford-upon-Avon-based accountants Murphy Salisbury, advised Expo founder Griffin on the sale.
Griffin said: “This is a very important event in Expo Management’s history, ensuring further investment and growth of the company and we are pleased that it has been completed smoothly with the help of Steve Smith and the team at Murphy Salisbury.
“Any business needs scale, and Diversified has scale of resources and scale of experience, and I am looking confident that under the Diversified banner, Expo Management will grow and diversify in the UK.”
Smith said: “We have a long standing relationship with Mark and helped him buy the business initially, so we were delighted help him complete the disposal.
“This was a particularly complex deal to handle, as it involved a cross-border transaction, different time zones and very tight deadlines. However we are pleased that the sale was concluded in two months, ensuring the business can proceed with operations as smoothly as possible.”
Murphy Salisbury worked with Leamington-based law firm Wright Hassall to conclude the deal.
