Hyve Group says in-person events recovering faster than anticipated

Pure London organiser Hyve Group has reported a faster than anticipated recovery of its in-person events following the end of international lockdowns.

The group, which also owns UK trade fairs Scoop, and Moda at Spring & Autumn Fair, reported revenue of 58.6 million pounds in the six months to March 31, up from 5 million pounds a year earlier.

The group said some in-person events even surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

However, events in China were disrupted by the reintroduction of Covid-19 restrictions, which also impacted Chinese international travel.

Hyve swung to a loss before tax of 11.5 million pounds compared to a profit of 20.5 million pounds a year earlier.

“Over the last six months we have, once again, had to respond to challenges outside of our control,” said group CEO Mark Shashoua in a statement.

But he said the company has adapted and is now “seeing a strong recovery” and has “moved significantly closer” to its “long-term vision, more quickly than expected”.

Shashoua said the company now has a “de-risked portfolio of market leading events, mostly focused on the UK, US and European markets”.

As part of the company’s new strategy, Shashoua said its “focus will be on sectors, rather than geographies. This is a significant shift for Hyve, but absolutely the right one for creating sustainable value for stakeholders”.

Hyve announced in April it would sell its Russian business following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The group said it entered the second half of the year “with momentum and a streamlined portfolio of market-leading, omnichannel products, focused on high growth industries”.