London’s Business Design Centre (BDC) has been acquired by ADNEC Group, which owns Excel London and several other exhibition and meeting venues.
Jack Morris CBE, who is retiring as chairman of Business Design Centre, said he and his family had to make the emotional decision to sell up. “Selling the Business Design Centre, the Morris family’s flagship business, which was founded by my visionary father Sam Morris 40 years ago, was never going to be an easy decision. But it’s the right time.
“My brothers and I are not getting any younger and now is the moment to hand over the baton to new proprietors who understand and respect what we have built.”
Originally the Royal Agricultural Hall dating back to 1862, BDC is a Grade II listed venue that now spans a 4.5-acre freehold estate and hosts an array of leading events, awards and product launches, as well as long-standing shows such as the London Art Fair, HIX and the Surface Design Show.
With more than 130 events and more than 900,000 visitors a year, the North London venue has 6,000 sqm of dedicated event and conference space, and it also provides more than 12,500 sqm of space for showrooms, offices and serviced offices.
The estate also includes the freehold title to the Hilton hotel land in Islington.
The BDC will become part of ADNEC’s venue portfolio, making it the fourth venue under the group's umbrella, which includes ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, ADNEC Centre Al Ain and Excel London.
Since ADNEC’s acquisition of Excel in 2008, the venue has continued to expand, operating 125,000 sqm of space and becoming London’s first International convention centre in 2010. With the most recent expansion of 25,000 sqm, Excel has become the largest integrated conference and exhibitions venue in Europe.
Excel also houses Immerse LDN, the UK’s largest immersive entertainment district, which opened recently.
Jeremy Rees, CEO of Excel, said: “Since acquiring Excel more than 15 years ago, ADNEC has demonstrated unwavering support for London’s event and business tourism industry.
"The acquisition of the prestigious BDC further underscores this commitment. We look forward to integrating BDC into the ADNEC ecosystem and will continue to invest significantly to ensure both Excel and BDC offer the highest-quality platforms for the events industry, reinforcing London’s status as a leading global events destination.”
