BikeRadar owner Immediate Media buys Upper Street Events & Cycle Show
Upper Street Events, organiser of long-running national exhibition Cycle Show, has been acquired by Immediate Media, home to sites and magazines like BikeRadar, Cycling Plus, Cycling News, MBUK, Procycling and 220 Triathlon.
Upper Street will relocate to Immediate’s London office, with Paul Byrom, former Chairman of the Association of Event Organisers and MD of Upper Street until 2017, taking up the role of Live Events Managing Director, reporting to Immediate Group Managing Director, Andy Marshall.
Cycle Show has been running for over a decade. Now housed at the NEC, Birmingham since 2011, Cycle Show used to take place in Earls Court before that was bulldozed for flats.
Established in 1987, Upper Street Events received investment from Livingbridge and the Baronsmead Venture Trusts in 2014. Upper Street’s current portfolio of events include; the aforementioned Cycle Show, the Knitting and Stitching shows, Festival of Quilts, Country Living Fairs, London Art Fair, New Designers, MOVE IT, Adventure Travel Show and The London Cruise Show. These events are attended by over 250,000 individuals and supported by 3,700 exhibitors and 150 major sponsors, according to the official stats.
Immediate Media CEO Tom Bureau said: “The acquisition of Upper Street Events is a further step in Immediate’s multiplatform transformation complementing our strategy of focusing on special interest content and communities. We see significant opportunities for growth and development in the events space, both in the markets Upper Street already operate in and with our portfolio of market-leading brands.
“This deal enhances our ability to offer our consumers world class content, products, services and experiences, across print, digital and live events. I look forward to welcoming the talented Upper Street team to Immediate.”
Upper Street CEO Julie Harris, added: “I genuinely can’t think of a more perfect home for Upper Street’s market leading, consumer events. We deliver premium experiences in passion-led markets which complement many of Immediate’s core special interest brands, and will allow us to accelerate our growth, and benefit from Immediate’s extensive experience in delivering multi-platform content. After a terrific 2018, this heralds a new and exciting next phase for the business, and I wish Immediate and the brilliant Upper Street team, the very best of luck.”
Immediate Media, home to some big hitting brands like the Radio Times, bought its cycle portfolio from Future five years ago.
