Creation of Ascential Events

RNS Number : 5002X

Ascential PLC

06 May 2016

 

RNS REACH

6 May 2016

Ascential plc

Creation of Ascential Events

Closer collaboration of exhibitions and festivals businesses to share excellence and drive growth

Ascential plc (the "Group" / LSE: ASC.L), the international, business-to-business media company with a focused portfolio of market-leading events and information services products, is pleased to announce the combination of its two operating companies i2i and Lions Festivals as Ascential Events under the leadership of Philip Thomas, the current CEO of Lions Festivals, who will take up his new role on 1 August 2016. Combining i2i Events, managing large-scale exhibitions and congresses, and Lions Festivals, brings together leading products Cannes Lions, Money 20/20 and Spring and Autumn Fair.

Duncan Painter, Chief Executive Ascential, said: "The objective of bringing all our large-scale event products together is to set the standard of event excellence worldwide.  This will be achieved through collaboration across our portfolio of leading events to bring out the best of each.  Ascential Events will sharpen the focus that has delivered substantial growth over the past four years and harness the learnings and know-how each business has built."

Mark Shashoua will leave the Group on 31 July 2016 to pursue other interests, with our best wishes for his future success and our thanks for the enormous contribution he has made to the success of i2i Events since 2011.

For further information, please contact:
FTI Consulting  LLP	020 3727 1000
Matt Dixon / Ed Bridges / Chris Lane

Notes to Editors:

About Philip Thomas

Philip is currently the Chief Executive of Lions Festivals, a post he has held since November 2006. He joined the Group in 1990 and was appointed Managing Director of the Australian and South East Asia Division in 2000 spending three years running the offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, before returning to the UK to run the Group's Automotive Division. Philip began his career as a journalist before moving into publishing.

About Ascential plc

Ascential plc is a leading international media company that informs and connects business professionals in 150 countries through market-leading Exhibitions and Festivals, and Information Services.

Ascential powers the prestigious Cannes Lions festival for the branded communications industry, the world's premier payments and financial services congress Money20/20, Spring Fair/Autumn Fair, Bett, the global fashion trend forecasting service WGSN and environmental risk data business Groundsure. 23 of Ascential's 32 product lines are market-leading and occupy number one positions.

Ascential exists to provide our customers with world class content and connections empowering their businesses to be the best informed and best connected. Our products enable focus, growth and value.

Ascential.com

 

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