5th October, 2023 – London, UK
Collingwood Corporate Finance advised the shareholders of Oliver Kinross, a leading global organiser of construction tradeshows, on its sale to fast-growing exhibitions platform Nineteen Group.
Formed in 2008, the Oliver Kinross business includes a series of differentiated, market-leading large scale events in New York, London, Sydney and Chicago. The global Build shows are business festivals with unique content and networking focused on the megacities they serve.
"We couldn’t be more excited for Oliver Kinross to join Nineteen Group."
Neil McKenzie, Founder of Oliver Kinross
Neil McKenzie continued: "Their private equity backing, combined with an incredibly experienced management team, has proven to be an incredible recipe for success. We’d like to say a huge heartfelt thank you to the Collingwood team. When we signed up with Collingwood we had no idea as to the extraordinary breadth, depth and skill they would bring to the table with such a large and talented team. The M&A process can at times be technical, complex and daunting to say the least! Collingwood were by our side every step of the way expertly and calmly guiding us through all aspects of the process. The level of connections and respect they have in the exhibition and events sector should not be underestimated. We couldn’t recommend Collingwood more to any event or media business embarking upon the M&A journey.”
Nineteen Group is a culture-driven, rapidly expanding tradeshow organiser. Backed by Phoenix Equity Partners, Nineteen connects tens of thousands of people across tradeshows, publications and digital products.
“From the moment we stepped into the Oliver Kinross shows, they felt right: busy and engaging with a real festivalisation feel. We feel most privileged that the Oliver Kinross team has chosen us.”
Peter Jones, CEO of Nineteen Group
“We are incredibly grateful to Collingwood for all their help with the sale process."
James McKenzie, Founder of Oliver Kinross
James McKenzie continued: "They impressed us greatly with their knowledge on exhibition and events M&A, and the breadth of their industry contacts. Their dedicated and professional team helped guide us through all aspects of the process and we would strongly recommend using their services.”
“We’ve known the Oliver Kinross team for several years now and always considered them one of the great success stories among independent tradeshow organisers, with a very powerful internationalisation strategy."
Piers Bearne, Collingwood’s Founder
Piers Bearne continued: "Neil, James, Adam and Barry are very smart people who have developed an engaging festival format and have applied exhibitions best practice to the business. It’s always a great learning experience to work with such an innovative company, and very rewarding to have found the right home for Oliver Kinross.”
This transaction underlines Collingwood’s mission to support founders of independent media businesses to create and maximise business value, and to find the right home for their companies when they exit.