NEWTON, Mass., Questex Media Group, Inc. today announced it has completed the acquisition of U.K.-based McLean Events International Ltd. McLean Events will operate as a subsidiary of Questex and continue to be led by its founder and chairman, Noor Kassam.

"McLean and Questex complement one another very well as McLean is already active in a number of markets covered by Questex through our HOTEC, CONFEC and SPATEC events," said Noor Kassam. We look forward to working with the Questex team to further accelerate the growth of our business."

Founded in 1996, McLean Events is a pioneer and leader in the high-growth appointment-based event business. The company currently produces its highly successful series of 13 branded events throughout the U.K., Europe, Middle East, North America and Asia, serving four primary industry sectors.

"Noor spotted the need for targeted, appointment-based events a decade ago, before any trend toward them had been established. He built a successful company that delivers great value and experience for its customers around that concept," said Kerry Gumas, Questex Media's president & CEO. "With such strong current demand for this type of business event, we are looking forward to working with the McLean team to extending their successful model across our customer base."

The acquired events include:

  • The HOTEC series of three-day forums held in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East which consist of pre-scheduled appointments with numerous networking opportunities to do business and exchange ideas with the leaders who influence the future of the global hospitality industry. HOTEC joins Questex's HotelWorld Network of leading hotel and hospitality media and events including Hotel & Motel Management, Hotel Design and Luxury Hotelier magazines, HotelWorld Expo and the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF).
  • The SPATEC series of three-day forums held in North America, U.K. and Europe which consist of one-on-one meetings between spa owners, directors and design/management companies with leading spa suppliers and vendors in a variety of categories including skincare, equipment, spa software, linens, hydrotherapy, tanning, uniforms, fitness equipment, and more. The SPATEC series will be closely aligned with Questex's American Spa magazine and its International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conferences (IECSC). SPATEC will continue to be run and organized by McLean Events International and the association with SPA Magazine will remain in force.
  • The CONFEC series of three-day forums held in the U.K. and Europe which focuses on the convention, conference, meetings and incentive industries. CONFEC brings together buyers representing decision-makers in search of a venue for their meeting with major and emerging hotel chains, individual properties, unusual venues, convention bureaus and tourist boards.
  • The SIBEC series of one-on-one meeting forums held in the U.K., Europe and North America brings together owners, operators, CEOs, and COOs of health, recreation, sports and fitness organizations and leading executives from national and international supplier companies.

About McLean Events International, Ltd | McLean Events was established in 1996 to develop a platform for buyers and suppliers to meet and "talk business" through a unique series of specialized business-to-business meeting forums across a range of industry sectors. The company produces its highly successful series of 13 branded events throughout the U.K., Europe, Middle East, North America and Asia, serving four primary industry sectors: Hotel Design & Management; Spa & Beauty; Meetings, Conference & Incentive; Health & Fitness. The company is headquartered in Kingston, U.K. For more detailed information on McLean Events International, please refer to the company's website at .

About Questex Media Group, Inc. | Questex Media Group, Inc. is a global, diversified business-to-business integrated media provider, headquartered in Newton MA. Questex serves multiple industries including technology, travel, beauty, spa, entertainment, industrial and specialty services markets through a range of well established, market-leading publications, digital media, events and information services. The company's business includes 25 trade publications, 35 conferences and tradeshows, over 45 online media brands as well as branded strategic advisory services, research, data, marketing services and databases. Questex has more than 400 staff in offices throughout North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. For more information, please refer to the company's website at .

Michelle Mitchell
Director of Public Relations of Questex
+1-216-706-3733
Questex