City File: Bet Blenheim

BLENHEIM, the company that specialises in putting on exhibitions and conferences, has always been greeted with scepticism in the City. Until Blenheim came along and took the industry by the scruff of the neck, nobody really thought there was much money to be made from exhibitions. Profits last year were pounds 37.3m compared with the previous pounds 28.3m. But doubts have been expressed about whether the group, which has seen its market capitalisation soar from pounds 65m to more than pounds 430m in the last two years, can sustain that remarkable rate of growth. The doubters under-estimate the potential for exhibitions and conferences overseas. At the same time, the industry, which remains fragmented and composed of small companies specialising in one-off trade fairs, is ripe for acquisition. Europe, and Scandinavia in particular, are likely targets.