The Mark Allen Group has completed its second acquisition this year with the purchase of Heelec Ltd, whose principal asset is EMEX, the net zero and energy management expo.
EMEX, a B2B exhibition for professionals responsible for managing their organisation’s energy consumption, will sit within MA Exhibitions, one of the seven operating companies in the group, run by managing director Tim Willoughby. It follows the acquisition earlier this year of Regen, the regeneration event held annually in Liverpool.
The deal was brokered by Steve Monnington of Mayfield Merger Strategies. Heelec, an acronym for Home for Energy Efficiency and Low Energy Companies, was set up in 2013 by events professional Jason Franks and Lord Rupert Redesdale, a Liberal Democrat hereditary peer.
Heelec has to date staged seven EMEX shows. The next one, under Mark Allen’s umbrella, will be held from 23-24 November at ExCeL London.
Lord Redesdale, who will join Mark Allen as a consultant and will remain the face of the exhibition, has been active in issues concerning the environment, energy and climate change.
Mark Allen (pictured right) said: “This is a superb acquisition for us coming so soon after the interest generated by the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 26, which was held last year in Glasgow. It puts our company right at the heart of the central debate relating to sustainability.
“Rupert was very keen to stay with EMEX and we are delighted he has agreed to do so. Group CEO, Ben Allen, Tim and I spent a lovely afternoon in the Lords with Jason and Rupert and Rupert’s knowledge and passion shines through. We are particularly grateful to Steve Monnington for bringing this excellent opportunity to our attention.”
Ben Allen added: “Although we have become a much bigger concern during the last decade, we are a family-based company whose values, we believe, align with those of Rupert’s and the net zero community. What we aim to do is build this community and event into an even greater force for good, without compromising the independence and vision which is what has made EMEX successful.”
Lord Redesdale (pictured left) added: “I am delighted to be joining Mark Allen as a consultant for the EMEX event. This is a crucial and vital time for the planet. It was particularly important to us that we reached out to a company which put such a premium on content and intellectual integrity and Mark Allen fitted that bill. With more investment coming its way, EMEX can only expand and develop.”
Mark Allen claims to be the UK’s fastest growing independent B2B publishing and event company. Heelec represents its 24th deal in the last 10 years, which has seen revenues grow from £14.8m in 2012 to £60m in 2022 and EBITDA increase during the same period, from £1.36m to £13.3m.
