Saudi Arabia’s Events Investment Fund (EIF), a part of the National Development Fund has acquired a stake in Tahaluf, the Saudi Arabian large-scale live events company created through a strategic joint venture between the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) and Informa, the international event organiser and digital services group.
Following the announcement Stephen Carter gave an exclusive interview to EW’s editor Paul Colston:
Exciting times for the exhibitions sector as venues start to fill up again and organisers seem to be back at full speed planning their shows. Are you feeling the momentum building again?
Absolutely. We’ve seen both a high and sustained pace of return to live events and exhibitions. Interestingly, I think that as more of our working lives as professionals have moved online, and as more of our everyday work is being done via Teams and Zoom, it has only increased the value of leading exhibitions and events. The chance to get together in person, as a whole community in one place and at one time, and make real connections that lead to real business results, is even more valuable.
That said, customer expectations keep growing. You have to keep investing in a high-quality experience, with excellent service standards, sustainability embedded as standard, technology and digital features that enhance and wrap around the event, and so on. Quality and all-round value have only got more important for live events after the pandemic.
Indeed, Informa was quick out of the post-Covid blocks with the acquisition of Tarsus in a mammoth $940m deal back in March, so you’ve obviously been confident about the future of quality events and quality partnerships?
As I said at the time, we had long admired the Tarsus business. It was and is a great business, very well run under Doug Emslie and his leadership team, and a great fit for Informa. That’s only been further confirmed in the three or so months since we have fully owned the business and have been working deeply with and inside Tarsus.
It spoke to our focus at Informa: strong brands, operating internationally with events and teams located in major hubs, and serving specialist B2B markets complementary to our own, with very little overlap. The depth and closeness of customer relationships are also clear and key.
In May, we also announced the addition of Winsight to our Informa Connect business, which has all of the same attractive features: high quality, specialist media and research brands alongside strong events, including the flagship National Restaurant Association Show, a focus on serving customers deeply and great talent. It is early days for the combination but we’ve started positively, and bringing together Winsight and our existing teams in food and hospitality will significantly strengthen our position and create new opportunities in the specialist B2B Foodservice market.
Saudi Arabia seems to be very much in focus in terms of being perceived as a big emerging market for many industries, including the exhibition sector. (And dmg has recently heavily in shows there, including a major Water Expo, as we reported recently). What is it that you have found attractive in the region prompting this new investment?
We have long operated in the Middle East – for several decades in fact – and have progressively built relationships, positions, talent and operating capability in and across several countries.
Saudi Arabia is one of a number of countries and city-states who recognise the value that large-scale exhibitions and live events can bring to their economies and populations, in terms of international trade, innovation and the exchange of ideas, jobs and support for the supply chain.
Saudi Arabia has that focus, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification and transformation programme vision. It is also coupling that with tangible investment and support from a range of partners, funds and ministries.
We all know that to operate large-scale events successfully, you need the infrastructure, venues, airports, contractors and suppliers, and so on, to help stage the event, and all of those elements are being invested in and fully supported in Saudi Arabia.
Tahaluf of course has been working as a joint venture for a while, why is now the time for more major investment. Do tell us about the genesis of this project and why it is so important? What do you hope the investment will achieve in the short to medium term?
When Tahaluf was announced at the end of November last year, it was an Informa joint venture with the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming and Drones’ (SAFCSP) backing and support. The announcement 27 July, of EIF acquiring a stake in the business and Sela’s future investment, will supercharge Tahaluf’s expansion and impact.
We have significant ambitions for Tahaluf, centred around building a portfolio of thriving events and complementary world-class digital experiences in Saudi Arabia within five years. This plan is designed to maximise the opportunities to provide employment and training to local communities and support the promotion and accelerated development of strategically important industries in the Kingdom, as well as providing international businesses with access to new markets. All of the partners involved in Tahaluf share this vision for the business and its role in support of Saudi Vision 2030.
Which sectors in particular do you think will be reflected in future Tahaluf exhibition activity. Are they likely to be sectors of particular interest to the region and its economy or do you envisage some geo-cloning perhaps?
We are already seeing a range of B2B event brands launch and see significant interest. These are in globally important sectors such as technology, real estate, pharmaceuticals, food, health and beauty, tourism and hospitality and are attracting both international businesses and regional and national businesses.
LEAP 2023 for example was the most attended technology event in the world, with over 172,000 attendees, and was an entirely new launch, where we have also brought the renowned cyber security brand Black Hat to Saudi Arabia. Later this year, Tahaluf will be bringing our Cityscape Global real estate exhibition to the Kingdom as well as the Middle East editions of our CPHI and Cosmoprof brands, and will also be launching the new food and hospitality show InFlavour.
What does the new investment mean for staffing levels and opportunities for company growth?
The Tahaluf team, led by CEO Mike Champion, is currently a mixture of Informa colleagues with event and sector expertise and local talent. Tahaluf’s growth plans mean that there are significant career opportunities as the business builds at speed and I would encourage anyone interested to reach out to the team to find out more. It’s objective to make the most of the potential of young Saudi Arabian talent, particularly in the tech arena, so local recruitment is definitely a priority for the venture too.
Away from this news of investment, where else is Informa looking to expand and invest around the world in particular? Are more deals/investments imminent?
Across the company, we have a clear focus on growing our positions in specialist markets and doing more for our customers, whether that’s through new or improved services, greater value, more ways to connect, learn and grow, and you can expect that to continue to be our focus.
Which markets are you finding are performing best for you at this time? Presumably, you must be pleased to see activity resuming apace in China?
We’re seeing the full return of live and on-demand event brands in all major regions of the world and markets too. It has been great to see China return and our teams in China have been working at full pace and energy to serve that demand. Progress has been rapid since Covid restrictions started to be removed earlier this year, what’s being called ‘fast China’.
