Global event management and services company Freeman has confirmed to EW it is to close its Info Salons Sydney headquarters at the end of October. The company says the decision was due to the effects of the Covid pandemic on the local market, where severe restrictions have been imposed on the the whole events sector.
The company told EW: “At Freeman, we help our customers make moments that matter. It’s our never-ending drive to meet customers’ ever-changing needs – and to do it better than anyone else. That’s what has made Freeman the world’s leading event company.
“As we all work to get back to face-to-face events, we continuously evolve to best support our clients with global events. Australia continues to be on lockdown due to Covid and we do not anticipate live events here to return in the short-term. With that, we have decided to close our Sydney office, and focus on areas where we have the greatest opportunity.
"We will continue to serve clients from other locations around the globe.”
The event registration and technology company Info Salons was acquired by the US experience agency in 2018 and many trade shows for which the company provided registration services have had to cancel or postpone events over the past 18 months.
In Australia, Info Salons clients include Informa, Reed Exhibitions, Specialised Events and Diversified Communications.
Former Info Salons owner Jo-Anne Kelleway, and her Australian partners Glenys and Andrew Holland, turned the brand into one of the country’s event tech pioneers and business events flagship companies.
It is thought that the closure of the Sydney headquarters in the Surry Hills will result in up to a dozen redundancies.
Pre-Covid, Australia represented 13% of Info Salons’ global portfolio.
Info Salons will continue to operate in China, the Middle East, South East Asia and the US.
