Pure London owner completes sale of its exhibitions business to ITE

Ascential has completed the sale of its exhibition business, which includes Pure London and the Spring and Autumn Fairs, to ITE Group, owner of Moda, Jacket Required and Scoop.

The £300m deal, which was announced in May, has been completed today, just ahead of the next edition of Pure London, which takes place at London Olympia from 22-24 July.

As well as Pure, ITE has acquired a range of sizeable B2B events from Ascential to add to its wide-ranging portfolio. The deal means it now controls all of the major fashion trade shows in the UK.

Commenting on the sale Ascential CEO Duncan Painter said: "The divestment of the Exhibitions business is an important step for Ascential. I am pleased that we have found a good home for the Exhibitions team and would like to thank them for their contribution to Ascential. Looking ahead, we remain focused on enabling our customers to succeed in the digital economy, and this sale increases our financial capacity to invest in the future growth of our business."

Ascential, which is also the parent company of trend forecaster WGSN, has retained ownership of flagship events Cannes Lions, the global festival of creativity, and the World Retail Congress.