UBM has announced it has acquired International Business Events Limited – owner of the Ecobuild exhibition business – from its private owners for an initial cash payment of £31 million and a further performance-based cash consideration of up to £20 million payable over the next 12 months.

UBM has acquired the business on behalf of its UBM Built Environment division.

Ecobuild is the world's largest exhibition dedicated to sustainable building products and is the fastest-growing trade event in the UK. Launched in 2004, the exhibition is held annually in March at London’s Excel Centre. The number of professionals visiting the event has grown from 6,100 in 2006 to more than 55,000 in 2011, when the event occupied net floor space of 28,000m2.


In 2011 Ecobuild generated revenues of approximately £9.4 million, having grown 54% CAGR since 2007. This rapid expansion has been driven by the accelerating adoption of sustainable construction products and techniques, as well as the increasing focus on sustainability within the regulatory regimes for the UK and European construction industries. Strategy consultants AMR International forecast that the UK sustainable construction market will grow 30% CAGR 2011-15.

Ecobuild employs a total of nine staff in London and will be integrated into UBM Built Environment, also based in London. Ecobuild's CEO David Wood will remain with the business until mid 2012. Eliane van Doorn has been appointed to drive the internationalisation of UBM’s built environment product portfolio. In her previous role at UBM Live, Eliane oversaw the development of UBM's pharmaceutical industry tradeshow portfolio from seven events to 17 events taking place across China, Europe, Japan, India and South America.

The acquisition is expected to exceed UBM's cost of capital criterion in its first full year of ownership.

(CD)