Easyfairs experiences spectacular rebound after pandemic
Leading events company’s revenues close to pre-Covid level
Brussels, 24 October 2022: Easyfairs, the leading events organiser, has announced its results for the financial year 2021-22. They show a spectacular recovery from the pandemic, which brought virtually the entire European events industry to a halt. The Easyfairs Group’s 2021-22 revenues grew to €163 million. Recurring EBITDA hit €28.5 million from minus €30 million the previous year. With this growth, the Easyfairs Group is very nearly back to pre-Covid levels of profits and revenues.
Eric Everard, Group Chairman and Founder, expressed his delight at the results: “Our financial performance is a credit to the fantastic and dynamic people we have. They showed incredible resilience. The team took the opportunity to increase their skills and knowledge, ready for the upturn, and we are seeing the results.”
An efficient formula
Easyfairs Group CEO Matt Benyon also struck an optimistic note: “The events industry as a whole is resurgent, because a large proportion of many companies’ annual turnover either happens directly at events or is initiated during events. SMEs in particular which are major drivers of economic growth, rely on events to meet customers and prospects and build their sales pipelines. There’s no doubt, trade shows are playing an important role in the economic recovery.
“That said, Easyfairs is rather better placed to make a rapid recovery thanks to our unique formula. We saw something similar in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Our formula is efficient, sales-driven and affordable. We have a strong local footprint in regional markets, strong business-to-business brands, and we offer a sustainable all-in formula with transparent pricing. This is very attractive both to SMEs and to large enterprises that are cautiously rebuilding after the cutbacks they were forced to make during the pandemic.”
An appetite for face-to-face meetings
Anne Lafère, who shares Group CEO responsibilities with Benyon, provided another perspective on the turnaround. “After months of meeting via video links there is a real appetite to meet face to face. We’ve done many digital pilots and we’ve seen that online events work exceedingly well for educational purposes. But nothing will ever replace the joy and the efficiency of meeting in person when it comes to doing business,” she said.
“Our digital events helped to keep our business communities in touch during the pandemic. We will continue taking digital initiatives to engage with communities all year round, this really enhances the appeal of our face-to-face events,” Lafère added.
A sustainable business model
A vitally important aspect of innovation is the move towards sustainable technologies and business models that take environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns into account. “Our progress in ESG and our talent policies helped us secure Best Managed Company status in 2022, for the fourth year running, despite the pandemic,” Lafère said.
Easyfairs has just finalised its complete baseline carbon footprint calculation in compliance with the Greenhouse Gas protocol for fiscal year 18-19, the last pre-Covid year. Based on this calculation, Easyfairs will do its utmost to align with the Paris agreement, which was signed in 2015.
New launches & acquisitions
Over the past financial year (21-22) Easyfairs has launched 19 new events, mainly through the “geocloning” of existing event concepts in new markets. A similar number of launches is planned for financial year 2022-23. Easyfairs also made acquisitions, notably the KPA plastics trade show in Germany. In Sweden, the Easyfairs Group recently announced a 50% share of Malmö Mäss-Service, a provider of stand-building and related services, with which Easyfairs has a longstanding collaboration at its own venue, Malmömässan.
“This kind of acquisition allows us to offer an integrated business (embracing events, venue management and stand-building services), an increased operational efficiency, and a better service to customers while reducing our carbon footprint” Everard said.
About Easyfairs
Easyfairs organises and hosts events, bringing communities together to visit the future.
We currently organise 200 face-to-face events in 14 countries (Algeria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) and manage eight event venues in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden (Antwerp, Ghent, Mechelen-Brussels North, Namur, Gorinchem, Hardenberg, Malmö and Stockholm).
We are passionate about “easifying” the life of our customers and increasing the return on investment and return on time for professional communities through our all-in formulas, advanced technology and customer-centric approach.
The Easyfairs Group employs 700 highly committed talents, deploys the best marketing and technology tools, and develops brands with a strong appeal to our stakeholder communities.
In 2018 Easyfairs was named Belgium’s “Entrepreneur of the Year®” and a “Great Place to Work”. For the fourth year running, Deloitte conferred “Best Managed Company” status on Easyfairs in 2022. The company is in the top 20 of the world’s leading exhibition companies.
For further information, please contact:
Marie Ost
Group Communications Coordinator
[email protected]
+32 (0)496 40 60 28