You want to sell your event organization? Then it's good to know what the event organization takeover market looks like. The event industry is catching up in a big way. All the events that were on-hold during corona are now being held. And those events are bigger, more beautiful and bolder than ever.
Event organizations fall into the "other recreation" category at CBS, and there we see very clearly the effect of the pandemic. The number of mergers and acquisitions reached a record 35 last year.
There are many ways to value a business. A common method of expressing the value of a business is "a factor x gross annual profit." This factor is also called multiple and another designation for gross annual profit is EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization).
In hospitality, tourism and recreation, the sector to which event organizations belong, an indicative EBITDA multiple range of 2.9 to 4.0 is currently used, according to the Brookz Takeover Barometer. The average EBITDA multiple across all SME sectors is 4.90.
The valuation of a business is often the starting point for negotiations between buyer and seller. The outcome of these negotiations is the final sales price. So valuation and price are two different quantities. Besides valuation, the price is also determined by possible scarcity in the market, bargaining power of the parties, the strategic value of the business for the buyer and possible synergy effects for the buyer (cost savings, purchasing advantages).
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Do you want to buy a business or sell a business in the Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation sector? With this Brookz Sector Monitor we want to present buyers and sellers with facts, figures and an outlook that provide insight into the number of transactions, the value development of businesses and the latest trends and developments in the Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation sector. Because in any buying or selling process, thorough preparation provides peace of mind, overview and structure.
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This sector has a lot of self-employed people, and therefore the number of businesses with one employed person is relatively high.
In figures, the number of event organizations in 2024 looked as follows(CBS):
With this online training from Brookz you are optimally prepared to largely sell your business yourself: 25 Powerpoint videos, a comprehensive valuation report, legal model contracts, handy templates, checklists and expert support. Plus 50% discount on listing your business on Brookz!
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A number of trends and developments will inevitably cause changes in the coming years, but also offer event organizations many growth and acquisition opportunities:
Digital events are hot. Of course, this is the aftermath of the pandemic, but the experiences with it are very positive. Research shows that 71% of organizations keep their event strategy digital. And therefore, a lot of events will continue to be digital.
Putting down a cool customer journey is relevant for all businesses, including event organizers. The public is becoming increasingly demanding and technological developments make it possible to make an event great. Visitors want a total experience, because with only a speaker or an artist without further surprise elements, visitors stay at home.
Event organizing as a profit maker seems to be increasingly shifting to being used as a marketing tool. Microsoft hosted a pre-covid event with a $2,500 admission fee that attracted 6,000 attendees. They now host this event online and for free, reaching as many as 197,000 interested people! Most online events are free or very inexpensive, and this is proving to be a great marketing strategy.
