Moda and Pure London owner reports faster-than-expected recovery

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 24, 2022

Faster and better than expected. That’s the recovery story from events specialist Hyve Group in its 2022 interim update on Tuesday. And the Pure and Moda events owner/organiser also said its future focus will be “on sectors, rather than geographies”.

Hyve said it’s enjoying a continued recovery of in-person events “at a rate faster than anticipated, with some surpassing pre-pandemic levels… despite macro challenges” That success means the business is entering the second half of FY22 “with momentum and a streamlined portfolio of market-leading, omnichannel products, focused on high growth industries”.
 
It said high-quality events are driving customer spend and strong forward bookings, boosted by its “de-risked portfolio” following its exit from Russian operations together with strategic acquisitions enhancing an omnichannel strategy.

CEO Mark Shashoua added: “Over the last six months we have, once again, had to respond to challenges outside of our control. Thanks to the hard work of our people around the world, not only did we successfully navigate these challenges, but we are now seeing a strong recovery and have moved significantly closer to our long-term vision, more quickly than expected.
 
“Hyve is almost unrecognisable compared with just five years ago. Having evolved from a predominantly emerging markets business, today we have a de-risked portfolio of market-leading events, mostly focused on the UK, US and European markets.” 
 
He said the move to a focus on sectors, rather than geographies “is a significant shift for Hyve, but absolutely the right one for creating sustainable value for stakeholders.”
 
Shashoua added: “We expect the strong momentum we have seen in the first half of the year to continue. Our in-person events are recovering faster than anticipated, with many having already fully recovered. Whilst there are clearly global economic and geopolitical headwinds, the group is in a strong position with renewed confidence. This will serve Hyve well when navigating through any potential challenges.”