Professional Beauty Group has acquired Expo Beauty and Cosmo Beauty, two exhibitions serving the hair and beauty sectors in Barcelona and, in a separate acquisition, the Forum Hotel & Spa conference in Paris.
Recently, both of the Spanish events – Expo Beauty and Cosmo Beauty (pictured) – have been staged separately at different dates in Barcelona.
PBG’s acquisition will put them back into one venue allowing visitors to move seamlessly from one event to another.
Initial reaction from exhibitors and visitors in Spain has been positive as the combined event will re-establish Barcelona as a major hub for hair and beauty.
Many of the existing Barcelona based staff will join the Professional Beauty Group (PBG) team and the events will benefit from increased investment in content and marketing.
Included in the deal are the Vida Estetica magazine and awards, and the hair magazine Tocado, as well as International Aesthetics & Spa Congress & the Gaudi Awards.
In a separate acquisition, PBG has also acquired the Forum Hotel & Spa conference in Paris.
Staged at the luxury George V hotel the event, hosted in English, is one of the most prestigious events of its kind in the European spa calendar and will strengthen PBG's World Spa & Wellness conventions, which currently run in the UK, Dubai and South Africa.
Commenting on the acquisitions, Professional Beauty Group's managing director Mark Moloney said, “It’s exciting to be able to add value in new countries. Particularly in Barcelona, putting the two events back together in the city’s best venue is what the local industry has been crying out for.
"There’s no doubt we’ll learn a lot from our new Spanish and French teams as they will from us.
"Having said all that, I know our UK readers and exhibitors quite rightly care more about whether our UK events, magazines and websites are at the top of their game and I am well aware that we need to keep delivering our market-leading products for the UK professional.”
