Plans to focus on its festivals and digital businesses could lead to a £300 million sale of Ascential’s exhibitions division. The specialist information group previously known as Emap announced the launch of a strategic review of its exhibitions business yesterday.
The exhibitions business, which generated £78 million of revenue last year, includes the Spring and Autumn fairs, home and gift shows for the retail trade; Bett, a series of educational technology events; and Pure, a fashion trade show.
Analysts estimated that a sale , which also include CWIEME, a series of shows for the automotive, consumer electronics and power generation sectors, could generate proceeds of between £250 million and £300 million. Shares in Ascential jumped by almost 6 per cent yesterday, rising 22½p to 400½p.