Strong growth for i2iÂ's Bett and Spring Fair events signals a great start to 2013

Highlights:

• 35,000 visitors, up 18% YoY for 29th edition of Bett
• Spring Fair welcomes over 68,000 visitors, up 6% YoY
• More than £2bn forecast to be transacted as a result of Spring Fair
• Bett and Spring Fair attract leading speakers including The Right Hon Dr Vince Cable, Professor Brian Cox and Delia Smith

i2i Events Group has had a great start to 2013 with very successful editions of two leading events, Bett and Spring Fair.

18% growth in visitor numbers to 35,000 for 29th edition of Bett

In its new home at ExCel London, Bett confirmed its place as the world's leading event for learning technology, with more than 35,000 visitors and over 700 exhibitors attending the 29th edition held from 30th January – 2nd February 2013. The figures confirmed this edition as the most successful year to date, reflecting Bett's ever-growing importance within the education sector.

The additional floor space at Bett 2013 facilitated improvements in the visitor experience which featured interactive demonstrations, free guidance and advice on the latest products and 150 seminar sessions as part of the CPD (continuing professional development) certified content programme. The larger venue also enabled the show's expansion across the whole learning spectrum to include higher education (HE) and workplace learning, providing visitors with a classroom to boardroom approach to learning.

"Moving to a new venue gave us the opportunity to really invest in the content of the show," says Debbie French, Education Portfolio Director at i2i. "We worked alongside partners such as Naace, nasen and BESA as well as teachers and other education thought leaders to put together training that would resonate with all areas of our audience. And we were delighted with their response."

Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills who gave the show's opening speech and Professor Brian Cox,

Britain's most charismatic scientist, who spoke to a packed room about his work, his passion for physics, the educators who inspired him and his views on how to bring science subjects to life.

Visitor growth of 6% to over 68,000, at Spring Fair 2013

Spring Fair 2013 took place at the NEC in Birmingham from 3rd – 7th February and welcomed some 3,000 exhibitors and over 68,000 visitors, representing a 6% rise in visitor numbers from the 2012 event. Widely recognised as the UK's leading retail event and Europe's leading home and gift trade fair, some 300,000 new products from exhibitors operating in 13 different market sectors were launched at Spring Fair and the atmosphere was positively bullish throughout the week.

Sarah McLaughlin, Portfolio Director of Spring Fair commented, "Feedback from both exhibitors and visitors indicated that this was an exceptional show and the up-beat atmosphere bodes well for the retail trade in 2013 and beyond. We will continue to work closely with our partners and clients to ensure that going forward Spring Fair retains its leading position and delivers excellence on every level."

Along with thousands of independent store owners, a large number of department store buyers, multiple retailers and important overseas distributors were also in attendance, as were several household names including Delia Smith, Kirstie Allsopp, Sophie Conran and Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen. As well as an impressive range of products, Spring Fair also offered a comprehensive content programme across eight seminar theatres, demo areas and full-scale catwalks and hosted several industry events including the Giftware Association's Gift of the Year Awards, the Company of Master Jewellers' Best New Collection Award and the World Alliance meeting of Greeting Card Associations.

Richard Baker, COO i2i Events Group, comments, "I am delighted with the fast start that the UK business has made to 2013 and with the continued success of two of our most long standing events. We promised last year to commit to developing the content at all our events and to working even more closely with our clients and partners to consistently deliver excellence and this has certainly been borne out at Bett and Spring Fair 2013. I very much look forward to the rest of the year and to delivering a series of dynamic, innovative and market leading i2i events."

Bett celebrates its 30th year at ExCel London from 22nd – 25th January 2014 www.bettshow.com

The 65th Spring Fair takes place from 2nd – 6th February 2014 at the NEC Birmingham www.springfair.com