Olympia London acquired by consortium of German investors for £296 million.
The home of Brand Licensing Europe, UK Toy Fair and London Book Fair has been acquired by a group of institutional investors.
Olympia London was bought by the consortium – led by Deutsche Finance Group and Yoo Capital – for £296 million from London property company, Capital & Countries Properties.
Olympia London is a 130 year old exhibition and events business, welcoming more than 1.6 million visitors and hosting over 200 events each year.
As well as BLE, Toy Fair and London Book Fair, it also hosts the likes of Top Drawer and Pulse, as well as consumer shows such as the Ideal Home Exhibition.
Capco invested some £45 million into the business, enabling the transition of several shows which had previously been held at Earls Court to the venue.
Gavin Neilan, co-managing partner at DFI, said: “We see tremendous long-term potential in the 14-acre estate, and an opportunity to grow Olympia’s status as a world-class exhibition and events venue working with the existing management team and our partners to enhance the customer experience through expansion of the retail, leisure and hotel offerings.”
The joint venture includes Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), the Versicherungskammer Bayern Group (VKB), DFI European Value Add Fund (DFI Fund) and YC, as UK co-investor and asset manager.
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