What IMEX does

IMEX, legally Regent Exhibitions Ltd., is a private UK-incorporated B2B trade show organizer founded in 2002, focused exclusively on the global meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) industry. The company produces two flagship annual events: IMEX Frankfurt each May at Messe Frankfurt, positioned as the largest trade show for the meetings industry in Europe, and IMEX America each October in Las Vegas. IMEX operates a two-sided marketplace connecting approximately 2,900 destinations, venues, and suppliers from over 100 countries with more than 4,700 qualified hosted buyers per show, with the buyer pipeline supported through formal partnerships with the German Convention Bureau (GCB) and eight major industry associations (AIPC, ASAE, Destinations International, IAPCO, ICCA, MPI, PCMA, Site).

The company's underlying technology stack is a conventional event management platform providing exhibitor directory listings, lead scanning, on-site messaging, and registration services. It does not extend to a mobile app, public API, or SDK, and no AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. The business model is event-driven, monetized through exhibition space rental, sponsorship packages, registration fees, and the hosted buyer program, with content programming (the annual Talking Point initiative, e.g., "Design Matters" 2026-2027) and awards (the IMEX-EIC Sustainability Award) used to sustain year-round engagement and reinforce brand position. Operations are headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, with a reported headcount of 11-50 employees.

Name

IMEX

Legal name

Regent Exhibitions Ltd.

Website

https://imex-frankfurt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IMEX (Regent Exhibitions Ltd.) is a private B2B trade show organizer operating two flagship annual events — IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America — connecting approximately 2,900 destinations, venues, and suppliers from 100 countries with over 4,700 qualified hosted buyers in the global meetings and events industry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Show and Exhibition Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specific B2B Trade Show Organizers (THAHABAB)

Keywords

• Trade show exhibitions
• Meetings industry events
• Incentive travel exhibitions
• Business event services
• Exhibition booth rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Exhibition Space Rental: IMEX generates revenue by renting exhibition space and booths to destinations, venues, hotels, and other suppliers in the meetings and events industry. Exhibitors pay for floor space, sponsorship packages, and branded visibility opportunities.
2. Sponsorship Packages: Multiple sponsorship tiers offering brand visibility through various touchpoints including signage, digital platforms, event naming rights, and promotional materials.
3. Registration Fees: Attendance registration fees for visitors and participants at the trade show events.
4. Hosted Buyer Program: Program that connects qualified buyers with exhibitors, with selective inclusion of buyers receiving complimentary travel and accommodations funded through exhibitor participation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IMEX organizes and operates large-scale B2B trade shows for the global meetings, events, and incentive travel industry. The company rents exhibition space and booths to destinations, venues, hotels, and suppliers, and sells sponsorship packages, registration access, and hosted buyer program services. Its two flagship events are IMEX Frankfurt (held annually at Messe Frankfurt, Germany) and IMEX America (held annually in Las Vegas), supported by an online exhibitor directory, lead scanning tools, and an education program.

Product overview

IMEX operates a portfolio of annual trade shows for the global meetings, events, and incentive travel industry. The core products are IMEX Frankfurt (held annually at Messe Frankfurt, Germany, typically in May) and IMEX America (held annually in Las Vegas, typically in October). Supporting services include the Hosted Buyer Program providing qualifying buyers with complimentary travel and accommodations, an Education Program offering professional development sessions and tracks for planners, and an Exhibitor Directory. The company also organizes themed Talking Points annually (e.g., Design Matters for 2026-2027) to frame industry discussion topics across its events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IMEX Frankfurt Annual European trade show held at Messe Frankfurt, Germany, featuring exhibitors from 100 countries representing destinations, venues, and suppliers, and attracting 4,700+ global decision makers with qualified buying power.
• IMEX America Annual US trade show held in Las Vegas for the meetings and events industry, providing additional exhibition and networking opportunities for the global meetings industry.
• Hosted Buyer Program Program offering qualified buyers free travel and accommodations, exclusive social opportunities, and VIP treatment to facilitate business meetings with exhibitors at IMEX trade shows.
• Education Program Professional education sessions and tracks covering topics for association planners, corporate planners, and general attendees, including IMEXscoop and various educational summits.
• Exhibitor Directory Online searchable directory of exhibiting companies and suppliers participating in the IMEX trade shows for attendee discovery and pre-show planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Access to 2,900 destinations, venues and suppliers from 100 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• GCB (German Convention Bureau)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGCB is IMEX Frankfurt's strategic partner, promoting the show within the German market and supporting the German outbound market for meetings and events. The partnership positions the event as a key opportunity for German industry professionals.
• AIPC (International Association of Congress Centres)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner organization representing international congress centres, promoting IMEX to their member venue network.
• ASAE (American Society of Association Executives)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner representing association executives, promoting IMEX to association planners in the US market.
• Destinations InternationalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner organization for destination marketing professionals, promoting IMEX to global destination marketing organizations.
• IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organizers)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner representing professional congress organizers, promoting IMEX to their global membership.
• ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner organization for the international meetings industry, promoting IMEX to their global member base.
• MPI (Meeting Professionals International)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner representing meeting professionals worldwide, promoting IMEX to their extensive membership network.
• PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner organization for business events professionals, promoting IMEX to their global network of meeting planners.
• Site (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner representing incentive travel professionals, promoting IMEX to members focused on incentive travel programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GL Events: GL Events is a French-listed global event organizer and venue operator that runs a portfolio of exhibitions and conferences across multiple industries, including events serving the MICE market. It is comparable to IMEX as a large multi-vertical event organizer with significant European venue and exhibition operations.
• Informa PLC: Informa is a major B2B events and exhibitions group operating a global portfolio of trade shows across many industries. It is a broad incumbent in the trade show space with the scale and capital to enter or expand in the MICE segment where IMEX operates.
• Reed Exhibitions (RX): RX is the world's largest trade show organizer and parent of IBTM World, IMEX's most direct competitor. It operates a broad portfolio across many verticals and is a much larger incumbent that could allocate greater resources to compete with IMEX in the MICE segment.
• Hyve Group: Hyve Group is a UK-listed international trade show organizer operating events across multiple verticals including MICE (CIBTM). It is comparable to IMEX as a publicly-listed, multi-vertical exhibitions business with overlapping buyer and exhibitor audiences.

Regional players

• IT&CM Asia (TTG Events): IT&CM Asia is a B2B incentive travel and corporate meetings exhibition held in Asia. It is comparable to IMEX in product structure (hosted buyers, exhibitor booths, education tracks) but operates regionally in APAC rather than competing in Europe.
• Conventa (DMC INDOCENTIVE): Conventa is a B2B meetings industry trade show held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with a focus on the CEE and Adriatic region. It uses a hosted-buyer model similar to IMEX and is comparable in format, but competes in a smaller regional market.
• CIBTM (Hyve Group): CIBTM is the China-based B2B trade show for meetings, incentives, and business travel operated by Hyve Group. It uses the IMEX-style hosted-buyer-plus-exhibitor format and competes for the same global supplier audience, but is primarily a regional/China-focused event.

Direct peers

• The Meetings Show (Northstar Meetings Group): The Meetings Show is a UK-based annual B2B exhibition for the meetings, events, and incentive travel industry. It uses the same hosted-buyer and exhibitor model as IMEX and competes for the same European corporate planner audience, particularly the UK outbound market.
• AIME (Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo): AIME is the leading B2B trade show for the MICE industry in Asia-Pacific, held annually in Melbourne. It targets the same hosted-buyer-plus-exhibitor formula as IMEX but serves the APAC region, making it the most direct regional counterpart to IMEX Frankfurt.
• IBTM World (Reed Exhibitions / RX): IBTM World is the other flagship global B2B trade show for the meetings, incentives, conferences, and events industry (held in Barcelona). It is the most direct head-to-head competitor to IMEX Frankfurt, serving the same corporate and association planner buyer base with the same exhibition-and-hosted-buyer model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IMEX_Group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IMEX