Expo Management organise three events – the biennial Euro Bus Expo exhibition, Coach and Bus Live, and Best of Britain & Ireland, which all take place at the NEC, Birmingham. Established for almost twenty years, the privately owned company also publishes a range of trade magazines, supported by digital platforms, for the sector.
Euro Bus Expo was rebranded as a joint industry initiative between Expo Management and The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) trade association in 2006. Today, it boasts attendance of almost 10,000 and around 300 exhibitors, and is recognised as one of the leading trade shows for the sector in Europe. Coach and Bus Live, which focuses more on the UK’s domestic market, also takes place every two years; alternating with Euro Bus Expo. The Expo Management event business, based in Royal Leamington Spa, also includes two successful award ceremonies – The Route One Operator Excellence Awards and the National Coach Tourism Awards. Whilst the leading domestic travel trade show – Best of Britain and Ireland, completes the events portfolio.
The publishing side of the business is based in Peterborough and includes the industry’s trade magazines – Route One and Coach Monthly, as well as the leading industry directory, websites, apps and other publishing activity. The business will continue to be headed up by Mark Griffin, who becomes Group Director for the division.
The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) remains a key, long-term supporting partner of Euro Bus Expo and Coach and Bus Live. The deal ensures that the CPT will continue to receive financial income from the delivery of the shows, and their supplier members will continue to receive CPT benefits going forward. It also gives the CPT access to Diversified Communications’ worldwide experience of working with trade associations.
Commenting on the news, Diversified UK’s Carsten Holm says: “It’s great to be welcoming Expo Management and its fantastic team, headed up by Mark Griffin, to Diversified Communications. We have always been very impressed with the success of Mark’s business, and feel that his personal approach, customer focus and attention to detail is very similar to our own way of doing things. With the same team in place and a shared vision, but with the added resources of Diversified, I know the industry will enjoy working with us as much as they have enjoyed working with Expo Management over the years. It already feels like a perfect fit for our business and is a significant development for Diversified’s UK business.”
Mark Griffin, Managing Director of Expo Management, agrees: “We are really proud of what our team have achieved over the last twenty years. We have some fantastic events and publishing products, which have a strong reputation as market leaders in the bus, coach and domestic tourism markets. Being part of Diversified Communications will give us scale, which is essential nowadays to grow any business, and there are huge opportunities out there in our market. The reputation which the Diversified team have as an award winning company, passionate about branding and customer experience is well known. This will be a really exciting journey and is great news for our market.”
Including recent acquisitions and a series of new launches, Diversified UK continues to strengthen its position as one of the fastest growing event organisers and publishers in the UK. The UK division of Diversified Communications now employs over 80 staff and has increased its brand portfolio by 127% over the past eighteen months, says the company.
