Deals

Leading international events company dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa has acquired boutique business forum organiser Atticus Events. Focused specifically on the interior design of luxury hotels, HI Design organises specialist business meetings between key buyers from currently active hotel projects and a curated selection of International FF&E (Furniture, fixtures and equipment) suppliers. With each edition held in a different five star hotel location, HI Design events are currently run annually in Europe, Asia and MEA.

“The HI Design portfolio dovetails perfectly with the work our teams do with Index and the growing selection of hotel shows,” remarked Matt Denton, the president of dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa.  “The acquisition of HI Design gives us another way to serve our market, bringing suppliers together with buyers from four and five-star hotel projects in a well-controlled atmosphere primed for doing good business,” he added.

According to him, the distinct features of the HI Design events include the direct contact of the pre-arranged one-on-one meetings, and a level playing field created for all suppliers. “These features are combined with a carefully managed delegate list that balances the numbers between supplier companies and buyer companies. Buyers compromise one-third hotel groups and two-thirds interior designers, complimenting and supporting the existing dmg Hospitality and Design portfolio,” explained Denton. “It is absolutely fantastic to be able to integrate HI Design’s unique approach to business matching with our own established portfolio of hospitality and design events,” said Denton.  “This latest acquisition is just one part of our ongoing expansion plans as we boost the geographic breadth of our portfolio, while delving deeper into the key verticals we servem,” he noted.

HI Design founders Jonathan Needs and James Burke said: “Having nurtured and grown the HI Design events into the leading forums they are today, we look forward to seeing the next stage of their development. We are extremely proud of how HI Design has established itself over the last 12 years, developing and growing in different parts of the world, and during some very challenging global economic times, The dmg events hospitality and design portfolio will provide an ideal environment for HI Design to continue to flourish.  It is also great news that a number of our colleagues who have worked with us for many years will carry on doing so with dmg,”

HI Design ran for the first time in 2006 in Stockholm. HI Design Asia was launched in 2009 and the MEA edition debuted this year, with a first event held in Oman. The next event is scheduled for March 4 to 6, 2018 and will be held in Manama, Bahrain.