GL EVENTS (ISIN: FR0000066672 - TICKER: GLO), THE INTEGRATED EVENT INDUSTRY GROUP, ANNOUNCES ITS ACQUISITION OF MAJORITY SHAREHOLDING IN THE JOHANNESBURG EXPO CENTRE.
Present in South Africa for 10 years through its subsidiary GL events South Africa which already deploys the Group's event services solutions (GL events Live), GL events has acquired 60% of Johannesburg Expo Centre 2002 Pty Ltd (JEC).
This company owns the largest exhibition centre in Africa (42,000 sqm indoor space on a site totalling 510,000 sqm) which hosts South Africa’s biggest trade shows, including notably the Rand Show, Bauma, Electra Mining, Propak Africa, Automechanica, etc.
It has 16 employees and is a shareholder of Dogan Exhibitions and Events Pty Ltd, the exhibition organiser for the Rand Show, South Africa's iconic consumer exhibition that will be celebrating its 125th edition in April 2019.
This project highlights a strategy to reinforce GL events’ presence in South Africa, the largest event industry market on the African continent, with forecasted growth of 7% per annum until 2021, exceeding the country's GDP growth.
OUTLOOK AND DEVELOPMENT
The Montgomery Group is a historic shareholder of the Johannesburg Expo Centre 2002 Pty Ltd and will remain an owner of the company alongside GL events. The Montgomery Group is an organiser of 50 shows in 15 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Middle-East and Africa. The synergies between Montgomery as a successful international organiser and GL events' expertise in managing exhibition venues will contribute to the success of new events to be developed for the site.
This acquisition will allow GL events to deploy the integrated business model which has underpinned the Group's success and achieve combined annual revenue in South Africa of more than €15 million.