Media group Expomedia plc has bought Homebuyer Events Limited, which organises a series of leading branded property events, including the largest residential investment property exhibition in the UK, the Property Investor Show.

Expomedia will pay an initial £7.3 million, plus £1.8 million in relation to the net assets acquired, for Homebuyer Events, which turned over £5.1 million in the 2005/06 financial year, £223,000 of which was pre-tax profit. A further £6.9 million could also be payable based on the results over the next three years.

Expomedia plans to replicate branded versions of the Homebuyer Events’ shows in its other markets.

“This is the Group's largest acquisition to date and is the leading brand in its industry sector, and due to the international base of the exhibition, we believe that these shows demonstrate the apposite qualities to allow replication into our territories of Russia, India and Germany,” said Expomedia’s chief executive Mark Shashoua. “We already organise two property shows in Warsaw and over 20 real estate conferences in Russia, Poland and India. The acquisition adds to the Group's robust portfolio of events, including MacexpoLive, The Surface Design Show, The Daily Telegraph Adventure Travel Show and World Food Market.”

Meanwhile, Homebuyer Events managing director Nick Clark revealed that the company had wanted to take its brands overseas for some time.

“The agreement with Expomedia Group offers instant local access to the many countries it serves, which will not only deliver additional inbound business to the UK events, but will also give us the platform and personnel to run new, indigenous events,” he commented.

Homebuyer Events was founded in 1989, with the launch of The Homebuyer Show at London's Barbican Centre. Since then, the brand has grown into a series of five annual shows taking place in major UK cities including London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester. The Property Investor Show, spawned from The Homebuyer Show in 2002, means the company now holds two annual exhibitions at London's ExCeL: The Homebuyer Show in March and The Property Investor Show in September. Both events attract in excess of 250 exhibitors and up to 14,000 visitors, and are recognised as the leading UK and overseas property exhibitions.

The Property Investor and Homebuyer brands have been responsible for creating a new large community of property investors, which was previously disparate, hard to target and difficult to reach. The brand is both trade and consumer orientated with content aimed at both beginners and professional investors. All the events cater for both domestic and overseas interests in roughly a 40:60 ratio. Homebuyer Events currently has a buyer database in excess of 70,000 individuals.