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Boardroom Talk: The risk and reward of UBM's events focus

UBM now makes four-fifths of its turnover from events. We asked CEO Tim Cobbold about the strengths and weaknesses of this focus.
April 25, 2017

A look at the share price, and the special returns, demonstrate that shareholders have benefited from UBM's (UBM) decision three years ago to concentrate the group on its global events business. For a company that started life as United Newspapers - founded by prime minister David Lloyd George in 1918 - and spent most of the last century building up its newspaper and PR operations, it's clear diversification is no longer the watchword.

What does this mean for the investment case? An acquisition-led growth model has lifted sales but also balance sheet leverage, while comparable sales have been slow in some geographies. Companies editor Ian Smith talked to CEO Tim Cobbold about the group's strategy to grow market share and turnover.

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