Hyve has partnered with Barbara Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge, to uncover the ways in which the pandemic has transformed our brains and how it has impacted our working lives. The study we're publishing today highlights the significance of in-person professional social interactions and their essential role in rebuilding lost connections.

Read the full report here
"We’re passionate about creating game-changing impact for people and businesses, and for us, this is all about harnessing the power of in-person connections" says Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve. "It was something we wanted to dig into further, so we undertook some research of today’s working population in the UK." 

Key findings include: 

• 60% of professionals surveyed reported concerns about the long-term negative impacts of the lockdowns on their mental wellbeing and brain function.
• A quarter (25%) reported feeling more disengaged with their work post-pandemic, within that 15% admit to “quiet quitting” as a consequence of remote or hybrid working arrangements.
• 58% of respondents say they now socialise less than they did before the pandemic and 52% say they have experienced increased feelings of loneliness due to the pandemic.  
• On a positive note, half (49%) say meeting professionally in-person is most effective for achieving results and building relationships, while just 18% say remote meetings are more effective than in-person connections. 
• 54%  say they’re more energised when they meet with colleagues, friends and family or network in person. 

These findings are echoed in the conclusions of Professor Barbara Sahakian’s report, which highlights the positive impact of returning to in-person professional events on mental health and wellbeing.

Professor Barbara J Sahakian, University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry, commented: “The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns had an immediate effect on our mental health, our cognition and our brains. As humans living in society, our brains develop to support social interactions and our social relationships play a vital role in our mental health. Now is the time to remedy these problems if we are to get back to full mental fitness and get maximum enjoyment for our home and work lives."

Mark Shashoua added: “Our hope is that this research will guide organizations in navigating the post-pandemic landscape, highlighting the importance for brain function of getting teams back together and inspiring them to build stronger, more resilient communities." 

Providence is a premier private equity firm specialising in growth-oriented investments in media, communications, education and technology. Searchlight is a leading global private investment firm known for its flexible approach to value creation and its deep industry knowledge, specifically in the communications, media and financial and business services sectors. With their combined expertise and resources, Providence and Searchlight will provide strong support to Hyve, as it pursues its ongoing strategy to redefine events for future generations.   
 
Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve, expressed his optimism for the new ownership, stating, "We are delighted to embark on this new and exciting chapter in Hyve’s journey with two investors who support our vision and strategy. The acquisition provides Hyve with increased opportunities for growth and evolution and will allow us to deliver ever-more game changing impact for our customers, exhibitors, and partners."
 
“We believe Hyve is an outstanding business with a strong platform underpinned by high-quality brands and events,” said Andrew Tisdale, Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners. “We look forward to leveraging Providence’s knowledge and experience investing in the events industry, as well as our capital resources and partnership with Searchlight, to support Mark and his team in pursuing Hyve’s full growth potential, including by enhancing its market-leading events portfolio, accelerating its digital initiatives and omnichannel investment strategy, and through value-enhancing acquisitions.”
 
James Redmayne, Partner at Searchlight, added: “We are looking forward to partnering with Mark and his hugely talented team, alongside Providence, as we embark on the exciting next chapter of Hyve’s journey. The company’s incredible transformation in recent years has established it as an industry leader, with a well-balanced portfolio of leading global events, which provide Hyve’s customer communities with the highest quality opportunities to network and trade. We look forward to fulfilling our promise of being a supportive shareholder and helping the team deliver on its wide range of compelling organic and acquisitive growth plans.”
 
In light of this acquisition, the existing Board of Hyve has stepped down. Mark extended his gratitude to the Board, saying, "On behalf of Hyve, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our outgoing Board members for their valuable contributions and dedication to the company's success. Their support has been instrumental in the transformation of Hyve into the thriving organisation it is today."
 

The acquisition comes at a time when Hyve has recently concluded a company-wide transformation, leaving it unrecognisable from its past. Its five-year Transformation and Growth programme saw the company completely change shape, refocusing away from emerging markets and onto advanced economies. Leveraging Providence and Searchlight’s financial strength, Hyve aims to further enhance its event portfolio, and deliver new and innovative ways to enhance in-person business connections.

 
About Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on growth‑oriented media, communications, education and technology companies across North America and Europe. Providence combines its partnership approach to investing with deep industry expertise to help management teams build exceptional businesses and generate attractive returns. Since its founding in 1989, Providence has invested over $35 billion across more than 170 private equity portfolio companies. With its headquarters in Providence, RI, the firm also has offices in New York, London, Boston and Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.provequity.com
 
About Searchlight Capital Partners
Searchlight is a global private investment firm with approximately $12 billion in assets under management and offices in New York, London, Miami and Toronto. Searchlight seeks to invest in businesses where its long-term capital and strategic support accelerate value creation for all stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.searchlightcap.com
 

Hyve Group plc ("Hyve") is pleased to announce that, at the Court Meeting and General Meeting held earlier today in connection with the recommended cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Hyve by Bidco (the "Acquisition"), all of the resolutions proposed were duly passed.

Full details of the resolutions passed are set out in the notices of the Court Meeting and the General Meeting contained in the scheme document dated 5 April 2023 (the "Scheme Document"), which, except in relation to access from certain Restricted Jurisdictions, is available on Hyve's website at https://hyve.group/Investors and on Bidco's website at https://www.provequity.com/hyvegroupplc.

Capitalised terms used but not defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Scheme Document.

Read the full announcement to the London Stock Exchange here. 

Julie has a leadership and management background in the media and information technology sectors and is currently Chief Executive Officer of Comparison Technologies, a position she has held since November 2019. Julie has over 25 years' experience of working in B2B and B2C media and events businesses delivering on digital transformation and has been a NED of Which? Ltd for the last five years.

Julie has been in executive leadership roles for over 10 years and has led teams in the UK and internationally, launching, acquiring and growing businesses, developing tech products and driving significant value. Julie has created diverse, inclusive and high-performance environments in the organisations she has been a part of. At Hyve, Julie will take on the role of ESG Committee Chair, providing Board-level oversight of the delivery of the Group's ESG strategy.

Richard Last, Chairman of Hyve plc, commented:

I am delighted to welcome Julie to the Board of Hyve. Julie will be an asset to the Group, bringing over 25 years of industry experience leading strategic and digital transformations. I look forward to working with Julie and benefitting from her expertise, as Hyve continues to grow and diversify its products and portfolio.

Julie Harris said:

I am delighted to be joining the board of Hyve Group plc at such an exciting time in the evolution of the business. Out of the impressive transformation programme that Mark and his team have successfully delivered over the last five years, has emerged a portfolio of market-leading events, in advanced economies, with a smart digital diversification strategy and I look forward to being part of the next phase of evolution and growth.

• Hyve is now unrecognisable from its form in 2017, with a streamlined and de-risked portfolio of global, market-leading events and almost 95% of revenue now in advanced economies
• Full schedule of FY22 events ran outside China delivering revenue of £122.5m (2021: £21.8m¹) with a number events outperforming pre-COVID-19 levels 
• 110%² revenue recovery compared to pre-COVID-19 levels in the second half and 90%2 revenue recovery for FY22, on a pro forma basis after excluding China³
• Headline profit before tax of £11.5m (2021: £13.9m¹)
• Headline EBITDA of £23.7m (2021: £28.0m). Excluding the impact of insurance proceeds of £19.3m (2021: £65.0m), headline EBITDA has increased by £41.4m to £4.4m (2021: loss of £37.0m¹)
• Headline diluted earnings per share of 4.2p (2021: 4.9p¹)
• Positive cash generation resulted in adjusted net debt of £71.0m (2021: £79.9m) at the lower end of the £70-90m guidance range from the beginning of FY22
• As a result of the £135 million refinancing completed in October 2022, the Group has a strengthened balance sheet with facilities committed to Autumn 2026 and the financial security to drive further organic growth
• Entering 2023 with momentum and good visibility of earnings through strong forward bookings of £98m (FY22: £67m¹)

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc, commented:

2022 has been a year of significant achievements for Hyve as we drew a line in the sand on the past. The business is unrecognisable from its form in 2017. We have successfully delivered on our ambitious structural transformation and today's results show the significant progress we have made delivering an industry leading recovery and performance. This is a testament to the hard work of everyone at Hyve and I want to express my sincere thanks to our whole team.

"Our portfolio of market-leading events is now de-risked, with almost 95% focused on advanced economies with an emphasis on digital-ready growth sectors. The most significant change to our portfolio during the year was the sale of the Russian business following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I am pleased that we were able to find an outcome which answered our compliance with sanctions and moral obligations, while also offering stability to our 200+ former Russian colleagues and providing the best opportunity to realise value for the business.

"We continue to invest in our digital diversification and product extensions to deliver the highest quality customer experience and unbeatable return on investment. Hyve now has a strong platform from which to deliver growth and sustainable long-term value.

"While we are mindful of the global economic headwinds, we are reassured by the strong visibility of future earnings, cash generative business model and forward bookings of £98m. We continue to see customers choosing market leading events even in times of economic downturn, as evidenced by double-digit growth in like-for-like customer spend for the third consecutive year going into 2023.

Strategic and operational highlights

• Successfully completed portfolio transformation with full return of events outside China and strong performance across all KPIs
• Streamlined and de-risked portfolio, focused on advanced economies following disposals of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Indonesia and ABEC
• Growing omnichannel portfolio strengthened by acquisitions and successful integration of 121 Group and Fintech Meetup
• NPS scores well above industry average and pre-COVID-19 levels
• Organic growth being driven through product extensions such as Ahead by Bett, Shoptalk Europe and Green Energy Africa and the launch of full-scale meeting programmes following successful trials in FY22
• Meaningful progress in embedding ESG strategy across the business

Outlook

• Strong forward bookings and customer like-for-like spend with FY23 on track to be the third consecutive year of double-digit growth, providing good visibility and confidence in the year ahead
• Clear demand for Hyve events with further new launches planned in 2023
• Proportion of tech-enabled revenues expected to grow as multiple full-scale tech-enabled meetings programmes are rolled out
• Planned investments into growth initiatives to scale up tech-enabled meeting programmes will have a positive impact on revenue and profitability
• Well positioned to deliver operating profit margin growth to ahead of pre-COVID-19 levels over the medium term

Read the full report here. 

1 Results for the year ended 30 September 2021 have been restated for the treatment of the Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish businesses as discontinued operations as disclosed in note 12 to the consolidated accounts.
2 As no events were able to run in China in the year, FY22 China revenues were £nil. The FY19 revenues for China have been removed to show the recovery level of events that were able to run during the year.
3 Recovery is assessed with reference to pro forma FY19 revenues. The FY19 revenues have been adjusted to include the FY19 results of acquisitions made since September 2019 and to exclude the FY19 results of businesses that have since been disposed of. The FY22 revenues are after excluding discontinued operations in respect of Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.

Hyve Group plc, the next-generation global events business, today announces a trading update for the year ended 30 September 2022, prior to entering its close period ahead of its preliminary results announcement.

The Group has delivered revenue for FY22 of approximately £122m (2021: £22m), after excluding revenues from discontinued operations in respect of Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, having successfully run a full schedule of events outside China in FY22. This represents more than 85% recovery on a pro-forma basis[1] when compared to FY19, or more than 90% excluding China where there remains considerable disruption to event schedules.

The speed of recovery has surpassed expectations and combined with strong like-for-like customer spend demonstrates that the demand for high-quality market leading events continues to grow. This has resulted in another year of headline profitability with less reliance on insurance proceeds, which have reduced to £19m (2021: £65m), and a return to positive headline EBITDA without insurance proceeds.

Many in-person events already outperforming their pre-COVID editions

The pace of in-person event recovery accelerated throughout FY22. Despite disruption caused by the Omicron variant in the first half of the year, revenue recovery compared to FY19 pro-forma revenues¹ was still approximately 75% in H1. This increased in the second half to approximately 100%, even without the Group's events in China in the final quarter of the financial year which did not take place due to COVID related restrictions.

In September, two of the Group's largest events, Autumn Fair (UK) and Groceryshop (USA), took place and both significantly outperformed their previous editions. Groceryshop performed especially well, reporting revenues more than 40% higher than its largest pre-COVID edition and attracting more than 3,000 attendees.

Expansion of omnichannel portfolio

During the financial year the Group made significant progress in the continued development of its omnichannel strategy, including the rollout of further tech-enabled meetings programmes at in-person events, as well as the delivery of several successful fully online programmes.

In addition, the strategic acquisitions of 121 Group and Fintech Meetup expanded the size and diversity of Hyve's omnichannel products.

The Group ran 14 tech-enabled programmes in FY22, compared with four in FY21. These include a combination of digitally powered meeting programmes at in-person events and fully online experiences.

£135m debt refinancing and year-end net debt at lower end of guidance

As announced on 3 October 2022, the Group has signed new debt facilities totalling £135m, comprising a £115m term loan and a £20m super senior revolving credit facility ('SSRCF'). The new debt facilities will replace the Group's previous debt facilities, with the £101m debt at 30 September 2022 to be repaid in full on 20 October 2022 when the new funds are to be drawn.

As of 30 September 2022, the Group's adjusted net debt^[2] was approximately £72m, which is at the lower end of the previously stated FY22 year-end guidance of £70m-£90m following strong trading performance and cash generation.

Disposal of Turkish Business in line with the Group's strategy

The Group has continued to streamline its portfolio, in line with its strategy to focus on market leading events in advanced economies, and has entered into an agreement to sell Hyve Fuarcılık Anonim Şirketi and its subsidiaries (the "Turkish Business") for consideration of up to £8m to ICA (JV) Limited.

The Group will receive consideration of £2m on completion, less customary working capital adjustments, and between £4m and £6m of deferred consideration, payable over the six year period until December 2028 based on the profitability of the Turkish Business.

The Turkish Business operates five events in Turkey and for the year ended 30 September 2021 reported a loss before tax of £0.7m. As of 30 September 2021, the Turkish Business had gross assets of £1.9m.

The Directors intend to use the proceeds to reduce the Group's net debt. Completion of the disposal is conditional on completion of the Group's refinancing announced on 3 October 2022.

The disposal of the Turkish Business, following the management buyout of Ukraine announced on 17 July 2022, completes the disposal in full of the Group's Eastern & Southern Europe division. Added to the exits from Russia and Indonesia earlier in the year, the Group has significantly reduced its exposure to more volatile countries and FX rate fluctuations.

The Group's operations are now more concentrated in advanced economies and its US presence has significantly increased compared to previous years. Approximately 30% of the Group's revenues are now generated in the US and therefore the recent strengthening of the dollar against sterling is expected to have a positive impact on the Group's results in FY23.

Strong forward bookings and growth in customer spend give confidence in the outlook for FY23

Positive trading momentum continues as the Group starts FY23, with forward bookings of approximately £68m giving confidence in the year ahead. This compares to £50m this time last year going into FY22[3], which included significant rollovers from events cancelled in FY21. The continuous improvement in trading performance is a testament to the Group's high-quality market leading events enhanced by the successful roll-out of the omnichannel strategy across the portfolio, despite challenges across the wider economic and geopolitical environment.

Uncertainty around running events in China remains, but the Group notes relaxation of the COVID-19 related rules on a region-by-region basis and currently plans to run a full schedule of events in China in FY23. China represents less than 10% of Group revenues.

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc said:

It is clear that our business has now almost fully recovered from the turbulence of the last two years, and in many cases, we are pleased to have delivered significant growth compared to pre-COVID performance.

"The continued growth of customer like-for-like spend reinforces our strategy of focusing on only market leading events as customers are clearly directing marketing budgets towards key events in their sectors.

"In terms of our geographical focus, we continued to concentrate our capital on high growth industries in advanced economies. The sale of the Turkish Business announced today is another milestone in this direction. We are pleased to have found the right buyer who can offer the necessary investment and support to the team, along with regional expertise. I would like to thank all of the people in the Turkish Business and wish them the best in all of their future success.

"Looking ahead, we must of course remain vigilant/mindful of macroeconomic challenges, however we are optimistic about the next 12 months and this optimism is underpinned by strong forward bookings and an increase in like-for-like customer spend. We enter FY23 with a de-risked and concentrated portfolio of market leading events, clear opportunities for continued growth - both through analogue and digital - and our ever-present commitment and energy to make those a reality.



The Group will be publishing its preliminary results for FY22 on 13^th December 2022.

New £135m debt facilities

Hyve Group plc, the next-generation global events business, today announces the refinancing of the Group's debt. New debt facilities totalling £135m have been signed, comprising a £115m term loan and a £20m super senior revolving credit facility ('SSRCF').

The new debt facilities will replace the Group's previous debt facilities, with the £101m currently drawn to be repaid in full on 20 October 2022 when the new funds are to be drawn.

The £115m term loan is provided by certain funds and/or accounts of HPS Investment Partners, LLC or subsidiaries or affiliates thereof and is repayable over the next four years. Interest is initially payable at a rate of 7.75% over SONIA¹. A minimum liquidity covenant of £21m is in place up to and including August 2023. Thereafter a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio applies, flatlining at 3x.

The £20m SSRCF is provided by HSBC UK Bank PLC and is available over the next three years and nine months. Interest is initially payable on drawn amounts at 3.5% over SONIA² with a commitment fee of 35% (i.e. 1.225%) payable on undrawn amounts.

Current trading

As announced in the Group's trading update on 27 June 2022, the pace of in-person event recovery in FY22 has exceeded anticipated levels. This trend has continued over the final three months of the financial year in all markets with the exception of China where restrictions continue to disrupt our event schedule and resulted in the cancellation of the August Chinese events.

In September two of the Group's largest events, Autumn Fair and Groceryshop, took place and both significantly outperformed their previous editions. Groceryshop in particular outperformed expectations, reporting revenues more than 40% higher than the largest pre-COVID edition of the event.

Positive trading momentum continues as we approach FY23, with forward bookings for the next financial year currently in excess of £65m. This gives confidence in the FY23 outlook such that that the incremental debt service cost attributable to the increased margin over SONIA is expected to be offset by improved trading performance.

As of 31 August 2022, the Group's cash position was £34.7m and adjusted net debt³ £66.4m, on track to be towards the lower end of the previously stated FY22 year end guidance of £70m-£90m.

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve Group plc said:

I am pleased that we have secured new debt facilities with two partners that share our vision and are aligned with our ambitions. With the continued accelerated pace of recovery, we now have the long-term financial footing to further advance our organic growth and omnichannel strategy.

 

1 Subject to a margin ratchet, with a margin range of 7.5% to 8.0% over SONIA

2 Subject to a margin ratchet, with a margin range of 2.5% to 3.5% over SONIA

3 Adjusted net debt is defined as cash and cash equivalents after deducting bank loans. This is therefore prior to any lease liabilities recognised on the balance sheet and it is excluding cash presented as held for sale.