Hearst UK has agreed a deal with Telegraph Events to acquire fitness and wellbeing festival for women Be:FIT; luxury watch fair Salon QP; and luxury watch magazine QP. The deal is part of Hearst UK’s strategic commitment to grow and diversify revenues.
Be:FIT, Salon QP and QP Magazine will join a portfolio of brands and events targeting consumers interested in luxury and health and wellness from titles such as Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle to events such as Esquire Townhouse, Cosmopolitan Self Made and Country Living Fairs.
Hearst Live delivers over 100 events a year and continues to grow, with the Hearst Live team increasing in size by 30 per cent. Last year, Hearst Live launched Bazaar at Work in November and has plans to launch the first Big Book Festival.
Commenting on the acquisition, Victoria Archbold, managing director of events and sponsorship at Hearst Live, said: “This deal plays to the strengths of our brands and is a perfect fit for our publishing and events business. We are seeing unprecedented growth in experiential events – our attendance levels doubled last year primarily because our consumers are so engaged in our brands and those we choose to work with.
“From a commercial perspective, we have created successful collaborations with a number of like-minded brands that have delivered a great return on investment. Expanding our events portfolio will enable us to create more of these brand partnership platforms.”
Ruth Carter, managing director of Telegraph Events, added: “We’re extremely proud to have developed Be:FIT and Salon QP into the industry leading entities they are today. Telegraph Events has a vast portfolio of award winning live consumer and business events, which we continue to invest in and grow. Events form a key part of our new long-term strategy, with the focus of our events being on quality journalism and our diversified revenue streams, namely Travel and Financial Solutions.
“We thank the talented teams behind Be:FIT and Salon QP for their hard work and dedication and wish Hearst UK the best in continuing the success of both brands.”