Trading

In the first half of FY21 the Group ran 12 in-person events, held in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, China and most recently in India. This brings the total number of events run since the onset of the pandemic to 24. As previously communicated, while domestic attendance remains high, events are running at a significantly reduced scale given the ongoing international travel restrictions in place due to COVID-19.
 

Revenue for the first half is expected to be approximately £10m; this includes revenue from Groceryshop Spring Meetup which performed more than 10% ahead of expectations.

Groceryshop Spring Meetup

The acquisition of Retail Meetup in December 2020 brought to Hyve a first of its kind commercial proposition, which connects the entire retail and grocery ecosystems and offers opportunities to network and trade, at scale. The Retail Meetup product is a key part of the Group’s omnichannel evolution, providing Hyve with a flagship digital format.
 
In March 2021, the Group ran its first virtual Meetup event, Groceryshop Spring Meetup. It saw high levels of customer participation with 8,884 online meetings taking place over the three-day event, proving that online events can both cater to customer needs and be monetised.
 
In the second half of FY21 the Group has one further Meetup event scheduled, Shoptalk Meetup for Women (11-13 May 2021), with registrations tracking in line with management expectations. Two additional events will follow in FY22, Shoptalk Fall Meetup (19-21 October 2021) and Shoptalk Europe Meetup (dates tbc). Online events are scheduled to be complementary to in-person events, giving Shoptalk and Groceryshop the opportunity to meet customer needs at multiple points through the year.

Insurance claims

In March, £15.9m of further insurance claims have been approved, £5.0m in respect of FY20 events and £10.9m in respect of FY21 events.
 
In its trading update in January, the Group announced it had received confirmation of a further interim payment of £8.4m which has now been received.
 
To date insurance proceeds total £71.0m, £22.0m of which was received in FY20 and £49.0m of which has been received or confirmed in FY21. In total, £56.3m has now been received or confirmed in respect of FY20 events (policy cap: £62.0m) and £14.8m has been received or confirmed in respect of FY21 events (policy cap: £50m).

Disposal of Kazakhstan events portfolio

Hyve today also announces the disposal of ITECA LLP, the operating company for 25 of the Group's non-core, regionally focused events in Kazakhstan, to ICA (JV) Limited, a company owned and operated by a former consultant to Hyve in the region. This completes the Group’s planned exit of its business in Central Asia.

In the financial year ended 30 September 2020, the Kazakhstan events portfolio generated revenues of approximately £2.1m and reported an operating loss of approximately £0.6m. As at 30 September 2020 gross assets were approximately £7.6m and net assets £2.8m.  

The Group’s current expectation for consideration receivable is between £4.8m and £5.8m over a five to seven year period. The amount of the consideration and timing of payments varies by reference to the performance of the Kazakhstan business.

Outlook

Hyve is currently trading between the Group’s two modelled scenarios, “Recovery”⁽¹⁾ and “East West”⁽²⁾. In either scenario, Hyve maintains its strong liquidity position and has visibility of significant cash headroom throughout FY21 and FY22. H1 2021 net debt is expected to be approximately £92m.
 
With restrictions remaining on international travel and lockdowns still ongoing in certain markets, disruption to the event schedule continues. However, the Group is encouraged by the pace of vaccine rollouts in countries such as the United Kingdom and United States and while the near-term outlook remains fluid, Hyve continues to see strong demand for its market- leading events and a gradual return of customer participation.

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc said:

Hyve is currently operating between our two modelled scenarios. The Group has run in-person events in five Eastern markets during the first half. While the outlook remains fluid, the pace of vaccine roll outs in the United Kingdom and United States provides optimism that events in Western economies will run in the second half and with growing confidence from calendar year 2022 in line with our recovery scenario.
 
The continuing strength of customer rollover for Western events is proving there is pent-up demand that will be fulfilled as and when restrictions are fully lifted.
 
We remain active in delivering on our strategic goals, including managing our portfolio, and are pleased to have found a good home for the 25 legacy events in our regional Kazakhstan portfolio; we wish the business success in the future. This concludes a key strategic aim to exit the Central Asia markets.
 
Our focus on developing our omnichannel strategy positions Hyve well for recovery as markets re-open. We are focused on driving growth via in-person market-leading events as restrictions lift, and online as we progress the Group’s digital evolution. As a blueprint for future growth, in March we successfully ran our first monetisable virtual Retail Meetup event, Groceryshop Spring Meetup, with exceptional online turnout and engagement, providing a proven model for our next two virtual Meetup events to follow.
 

1. ‘Recovery’ scenario assumes that events in China, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are able to go ahead in FY21. However, they will be smaller than in previous years with a largely domestic customer base. This scenario assumes that events in western markets will take place during the second half.
2. ‘East-West’ scenario assumes that no western events take place throughout the year.

For further information please contact:

Hyve Group plc Mark Shashoua / John Gulliver	+44 (0)20 3545 9400
FTI Consulting Charles Palmer / Emma Hall / Chris Birt / Jamille Smith	+44 (0)20 3727 1000

 

About Hyve Group plc

Hyve Group plc is a next-generation global events business whose purpose is to bring together and connect entire sector ecosystems from all corners of the globe. We meet our customer needs to learn, network and trade via both market-leading in person and online events. Hyve Group plc is all about globally consistent best practice and unrivalled quality. Our vision is to create the world's leading portfolio of content-driven, must-attend events delivering an outstanding experience and ROI for our customers. Hyve’s market-leading portfolio of global brands include: Shoptalk, Spring Fair, MosBuild, Bett, Mining Indaba and recently acquired Retail Meetup, a ground-breaking digital platform enabling online networking and trade to take place at scale.
 
Where business is personal, where meetings move markets and where today's leaders inspire tomorrow's.

Shoptalk has a strong history of speaking up for women – where did the passion to really make a stand for this issue originally come from?

At Shoptalk our goal has always been to lead the dialogue on the transformation of retail and to serve as a catalyst for change. Our leadership team recognized early on the importance of using our events as a platform to advocate for women in the industry. Women account for the lion’s share of consumer purchases, yet only 12% of Fortune 500 retailer and consumer brand companies have a woman CEO. By amplifying women’s voices and raising their profiles, we can drive meaningful change to achieve gender equality in the industry.


It’s a bold move to arrange an entire event focused on women, and it must be something you thought about for a long time. What was the deciding factor to make it a reality?

We made an even bolder move in November 2019, when we decided to feature a 300+ all-women speaker line-up at Shoptalk 2020. It was particularly bold since we’d already confirmed 60+ men to speak. We asked these men to nominate a woman colleague to take their place on stage and were overwhelmed by their support. We were disappointed that COVID-19 prevented us from holding this ground-breaking event but knew we needed to act. The recent dire statistics surrounding women in the workplace (for example, labor participation rates for women have dropped to levels last seen in the late 1980s) confirm that the industry needs Shoptalk Meetup for Women.


What has the reaction to the event been from the industry?

It’s been inspiring to see both women and men jump at the chance to support this initiative. For women, the opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals across different company types and job functions has really resonated. Specifically, we’ve heard from women in tech and data-centric roles that Shoptalk Meetup for Women provides a sense of community and a realization that they’re not alone in typically male-dominated positions. Men have advocated for women leaders in their organizations by recommending them as Experts for our popular Ask-an-Expert program, and by speaking up about their accomplishments in our Original Content series on The State of Women Working in Retail.


You’ve had to do a lot of research on this subject. What was something you learned that really inspired you?

Something that really inspired me is the opportunity Shoptalk has to move the needle for women working in retail. In our series on The State of Women Working in Retail, we surveyed 330+ women in our community. An overwhelming 84% of women said mentors or champions have been either “important” or “very important” to their careers. When we interviewed Monica Turner, the President of North America Sales at P&G, she spoke candidly about how she views mentoring and sponsoring young people as her “life’s purpose.” By providing a place where women at all levels of the organization can connect to provide or receive mentorship, we will play a meaningful role in the development of future women leaders.


How do you think Shoptalk Meetup for Women will change the landscape for women in retail and ecommerce?

Shoptalk Meetup for Women will change the landscape for women working in retail and ecommerce by creating a community of insightful and accomplished women who can help each other achieve their goals. We hope that connections participants make during the event lead to new business, professional development and career opportunities that will last long after the three days in May.

Find out more about our Shoptalk Meetup for Women online event taking place between 11-13 May 2021 here

The past 12 months have presented some of the most significant challenges to businesses across the globe and Hyve is no exception, with the majority of our in-person events unable to go ahead. Since our events are a vital part of many business’s marketing strategies, as well as a key platform for innovation and growth for major industries, it was vital to continue to bring our communities together.  

Since the start of the pandemic, our teams have organised more than 100 webinars for our customer communities, and these have been well received. For three of our largest and most in-demand events, we took things a step further and created multiple-day virtual experiences to maximise community engagement.  

Here, the teams from Bett, Mining Indaba and Spring Fair tell us how they did it.  

Overcoming challenges  

Simultaneous to the immediate hurdles of digital upskilling and systems procurement, our teams were also having to entirely rethink their event agendas and content.

Hyve’s in-person events cater for three fundamental customer needs: learning, networking and trading. To date, the vast majority of online events have offered an enormous amount of learning opportunities, which are fantastic for engagement and brand advocacy. To ensure our virtual events were relevant for their respective communities, they had to create a holistic digital experience for customers which answered multiple needs.  

The additional challenge our teams faced was addressing the new needs of customers, as they too were tackling their own challenges brought about by COVID-19. Not only had the format changed, but the disrupted landscape meant that the narrative also needed to be entirely reconsidered. 

Digital firsts 

A tailored approach was taken for each event based on research with our customers and feedback on how Hyve could best support them at this pivotal time. Eve Harper, Event Director for Bett, said: “For BettFest we decided to use a combination of on-demand and live content to ensure that our global audience could participate. This mixed model also allowed us to replicate how our educator audience is working with its students, so it was a tried and tested approach among this customer community and one which we knew was manageable for them to fit around their even more demanding than usual day jobs.” 

Elsewhere we introduced technology such as green screens and augmented reality to bring events to life. Live panel debates, online product showrooms and event ceremonies all helped to enrich the event experience and recreate some of the vibrance that comes with a live event.  

 

A larger scale  

One of the main benefits that comes with digital events is scale. For all three events there was an opportunity to welcome new customers for whom time or travel had previously been an obstacle. As such these events reached new levels of attendance and an increased international audience, which in turn will help to build on the customer experience of future events.  

In addition, customers told us that they were able to absorb significantly more information – both in terms of finding new products and watching more content such as webinars and panel discussions.

It was inspirational and has really given me so much food for thought. Everyone could experience the whole show where most like myself can usually only have one day in real time. - Spring Fair @Home attendee 

The buzz of live events is unbeatable  

Digital events are capable of achieving brilliant engagement, but nothing compares to the buzz of physical events. Whether it’s a festival, sporting event, concert or market-leading exhibition, the energy and excitement which is generated by people coming together is unbeatable.  

Missed it last year but now loving #BettFest. The chat and alternative views with links are something else. This is what I’ve been missing, although I do miss sitting with close contacts and hearing their views. - BettFest attendee 

One way that our teams tackled this challenge and generated some of the atmosphere of a live event was through recognising and celebrating members of the community.  

@Bett_show so nice to hear educators being acknowledged for the tremendous work they have done in supporting their students & colleagues during this crisis. - BettFest attendee 

Key to retaining the buzz which is synonymous with Hyve events was securing an unmissable line-up. This was particularly true at Mining Indaba Virtual, which featured three African Presidents on the agenda – must-see content for this customer community.  

The virtual event was the next best thing to actually being in Cape Town. - Mining Indaba Virtual attendee 

For those events which facilitate retail, such as Spring Fair, there’s an addition challenge which Content Editor Emma Wilder explains: “In our customer community, everything is about touch and feel and that’s something you simply cannot replicate online. Retail buyers need to experience the product in real life to really understand if it’s right for their customer or not, equally that’s an essential part of the sale for an exhibitor.” 

Our future is omnichannel  

The changing nature of customer behaviors means we need to evolve our business and this has created a clear vision for our future which revolves around an omnichannel model. Looking ahead, we will be taking an ongoing, year-round approach to supporting our customer communities across the numerous global industries we serve and offering opportunities to learn, network and trade both online and in person.  

In addition to continuing to bring back our in-person events, we will also be creating engaging digital opportunities for our customer communities to come together. We will be enhancing our digital capability to level-up both our in-person and virtual products. 

Joanna Kotyrba, Head of Marketing for Mining Indaba explains an already planned further digital event for the African mining business community: “our inaugural Mining Indaba Virtual Investment Programme will run 30-31 March 2021, a two-day programme of highly targeted and optimised investment meetings. Alongside virtual meetings, we will be running the much-loved Mining Indaba Investment Battlefield online. The Investment Battlefield pitches Africa’s hottest junior mining companies against each other, offering them the chance to win an exhibition package to next year’s Mining Indaba and guaranteeing exposure to our investor community.” 

Disrupting an industry 

Hyve has, and always will be, a company that spearheads change and disruption. We believe that in many industries and geographies, the changes brought about by COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on how people do business. The acceleration of our omnichannel strategy will ensure we are best placed to support our customers and continue to be their number one choice.  

Our future will feature a mix of in person and online activity, with both prioritising quality and continuously striving to provide the highest return on investment and time for our customers. By gaining a deeper understanding of our customers’ needs through the improved data we are able to generate from digital events, we are creating world-class experiences for our customers and introducing them to brand new ways of doing business.  

In this interview, Mark talks openly about the future role of digital in the events industry, Hyve's acquisition of Retail Meetup and what it means to be an entrepreneur. 
 

In her latest feature as guest editor, Ruth Carter talks to Mark Shashoua, chief executive at @hyve_group, on his fiery passion for disruption https://t.co/Og1rmVSrQh #eventprofs

— Exhibition News (@ExhibitionNews) February 4, 2021

Trading

In the first quarter of FY21 the Group ran eight events, including WorldFood Istanbul, the Group’s first event held in Turkey since the onset of the pandemic, as well as further events in Russia, Ukraine and China. These events saw a high quality of domestic attendance albeit at a significantly reduced scale given ongoing international travel restrictions due to COVID-19. This takes the total number of events run by the Group since the onset of the pandemic to 20. Q1 is typically the Group’s smallest quarter by revenue, with fewer events taking place.

Retail Meetup, acquired in December 2020, has encouraging forward bookings for the upcoming events in March and May 2021 and further enhances our omnichannel approach.

For in-person events, while the near term continues to remain highly fluid, the Group is encouraged that vaccinations have started in earnest across the major markets in which Hyve operates.
 

Insurance claims

In FY20 the Group successfully secured £22.0m of income from insurance claims. As announced at Hyve’s final results, during Q1 £13.1m of claims related to FY20 events had been received and a further £11.5m of claims had been approved, but not yet paid. The Group can now confirm that the £11.5m of claim proceeds have now been received, taking the total insurance payments received to date to £46.7m. These amounts are in respect of the policies insuring FY20 event cancellations, capped at £62m. The Group has received confirmation of a further interim payment of £8.4m (£4.5m in respect of certain FY20 events and £3.9m in respect of one FY21 event, with payment awaited).

Insurance cover is in place for the cancellation of FY21 events, with potential claims capped at £50.0m. The Group expects to be able to provide further updates on FY21 insurance claims at its FY21 Interim Results.
 

Acquisition of Retail Meetup - Accelerating the omnichannel strategy

COVID-19 has demonstrated that whilst in-person events remain a critical forum to learn, network and trade, customers now want more touchpoints across the year in a more diverse range of formats. The events industry has not been able to solve how to deliver effective networking and trading opportunities in a virtual environment at scale, which is what many customers need and will increasingly look for in the future.

On 21 December 2020, the Group acquired Retail Meetup for an initial consideration of £18.8m to help solve this issue, enabling at-scale networking and lead generation with custom-built software by bringing the entire ecommerce ecosystem together online.

This ground-breaking remote collaboration proposition is setting a new standard for facilitated networking to conduct business online for the retail and grocery ecommerce industry with proven monetisation. Retail Meetup adds four high quality fully digital events that are expected to be earnings enhancing with clear potential to scale, highly encouraging initial customer response and strong sales performance.

Our upcoming Retail Meetup events include: Groceryshop Spring Meetup (9-11 March 2021) and Shoptalk Meetup for Women (11-13 May 2021) to take place in FY21, while Shoptalk Europe Meetup (dates tbc) and Shoptalk Fall Meetup (19-21 October 2021) are scheduled for FY22.
 

Outlook

The Group is encouraged that vaccinations have started in earnest across the major markets in which Hyve operates however, the near-term outlook remains fluid. We expect continued disruption to our event schedule and a gradual return of customer participation, particularly in western countries.

As announced at the Group’s FY20 Final Results, Hyve has modelled two trading scenarios for FY21. The first, the 'Recovery' scenario, assumes that only events in China, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are able to go ahead in the first half of FY21 but that all events currently scheduled will take place during the second half. The second scenario, the 'East-West' scenario, assumes that no western events will take place throughout the entire year. Both scenarios remain possible and assume events will be smaller than in previous years, with a largely domestic customer base. In either scenario we have visibility of cash headroom throughout FY21.

The Group maintains its strong liquidity position and continues to focus on cash generation and preservation. Strong demand for in-person events to return continues and with market-leading events leading the way for the recovery into FY22 our strategy and focus on building an omnichannel business positions Hyve well for a post COVID-19 environment as markets re-open.
 

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc said:

“Hyve enters 2021 with a strong platform to weather the COVID-19 crisis due to the decisive action taken in 2020 to strengthen our financial position, conserve cash, secure substantial insurance payments and, most recently, by accelerating our omnichannel strategy having completed the acquisition of Retail Meetup.

“In Q1 we have been able to run eight events, including our first event held in Turkey since the onset of the pandemic and while it’s encouraging to see the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines have started in earnest across the major markets in which Hyve operates, the near term remains highly fluid.

“We have done everything in our control to position Hyve at the forefront of the recovery. As in-person events continue to return, Hyve’s market-leading events are optimally placed to service the pent-up demand for learning, networking and trading whilst stimulating the global economy. The evolution of our strategy into an omnichannel business has been accelerated through the recent acquisition of Retail Meetup, enabling our customers to learn, network and trade online, presenting an exciting new avenue of growth for Hyve. Retail Meetup combined with our strong financial platform and market-leading in-person events provides us with a springboard to emerge successfully from the pandemic.”
 

For further information please contact:

Hyve Group plc Mark Shashoua / John Gulliver                                                          +44 (0)20 3545 9400

FTI Consulting Charles Palmer / Emma Hall / Chris Birt / Jamille Smith                    +44 (0)20 3727 1000
 

About Hyve Group plc

Hyve Group plc is a next-generation global events business whose purpose is to bring together and connect entire sector ecosystems from all corners of the globe. We meet our customer needs to learn, network and trade via both market-leading in person and online events. Hyve Group plc is all about globally consistent best practice and unrivalled quality. Our vision is to create the world's leading portfolio of content-driven, must-attend events delivering an outstanding experience and ROI for our customers. Hyve’s market-leading portfolio of global brands include: Shoptalk, Spring Fair, MosBuild, Bett, Mining Indaba and recently acquired Retail Meetup, a ground-breaking digital platform enabling online networking and trade to take place at scale.

Where business is personal, where meetings move markets and where today's leaders inspire tomorrow's.

Roger was a titan of our industry. The pioneering work he did throughout his lifetime not only helped to shape this business and the wider exhibition industry, but also marked some of the first steps towards a more connected world as the 70s presented a turning point for globalisation.
 
As markets began to open, he spotted an opportunity to create a series of businesses in emerging economies, starting with the Middle East in the 70s. In the 80s he was one of the first to expand into China and then, in the early 90s, he founded ITE Group with his brother Roddy, with a focus on Eastern Europe and Russia.
 
What came next was unprecedented for that time. The years that followed saw ITE grow from a team of three, to more than 850 people in over 10 countries. By 1998, ITE was organising more than 85 exhibitions, all crossing new boundaries and connecting the West with markets which were previously inaccessible. His innovations are still the cornerstone of the industry; he pioneered geo-cloning on a global scale and placed an enormous focus on customer experience – he believed that every event was a ‘show’.
 
When ITE transformed into Hyve in 2019, he could not have been prouder. He welcomed the new brand and was delighted to see the company’s pioneering spirit still setting the standard for the industry.
 
But he was more than just an inspiring businessman. Mark Shashoua, Roger’s son and now Hyve’s CEO, shared:

“His huge appetite for life built him a reputation as a charismatic whirlwind of energy. His greatest strength was his humanity and he had an extraordinary ability to connect with people from all walks of life. He lived his life completely committed to everything he did and with passion, humility and a good dose of humour. He was one of life’s greatest showmen.
 
Roger leaves behind a legacy that resonates as much now as it did when he started his career. He was a disruptor by nature and never more inspired than when there was uncertainty around him. He recently commented on how Covid would accelerate all forms of disruption and, whilst he said this, the glint in his eyes shone at the opportunities which await the world. His distinctive characteristics of challenging the status quo, ambition and fearlessness will serve us well as we enter yet another ground-breaking new era for the company.”
Please join us in celebrating the extraordinary life of Roger Shashoua, ‘one of life’s greatest showmen’.
 

• First of its kind digital networking format and technology with proven monetisation
• Initially adds four high quality fully digital events to accelerate evolution of omnichannel strategy
• Earnings enhancing in first full year of ownership and immediately brand enhancing