Yahoo Finance Informa takes stake in Founders Forum
Informa has taken a stake in Founders Forum, a network for entrepreneurs and investors in the tech sector, as its revenues rose in the first 10 months of the year.
The FTSE 100 events and publishing group revealed the minority investment in the organisation founded by serial tech investor and Lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman in a trading update that highlighted a 2.8pc increase in revenue.
It made £2.4bn last year and expects a significant rise in turnover for November and December - a key trading period that usually account for a fifth of annual revenue. November alone accounts for £350m of revenue, the company said.
The investment means Informa will set up a joint venture with the Founders Forum to tap into its “high-profile connections” and expand the London Tech Week conference.
Since its inception in 2011, the Fund has attracted some of the most influential names in the tech sector to its forums, including former Google boss Eric Schmidt, DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis and Sir Richard Branson.
Informa aims to expand its tech division and introduce more products and services to boost revenues that are already close to £300m.
In August, the firm bought the technology portfolio of IHS Markit, a London-based research firm, adding more than 350 analysts, data scientists and consultants to its team.
According to Stephen Carter, chief executive of Informa and former adviser to Gordon Brown, the growth comes despite an “unpredictable economic” and “geo-political backdrop”.
“The enlarged Informa Group continues to demonstrate resilience and performance, remaining on track for a sixth consecutive year of growth in underlying revenue, profit, adjusted earnings and cashflow,” he said.
Shares rose 0.2pc to 801.6p, pushing the company's market cap above £10bn.
