Encore Buys Eclipse to Boost UK Presence
On Thursday, Blackstone-backed audiovisual giant Encore announced it had acquired the UK-based Eclipse Presentations. In addition to production, scenic, and creative services, Eclipse provides in-house production services for several of London’s major event venues.
Encore President and CEO Ben Erwin described the acquisition as an “exciting milestone for Encore,” and commended Eclipse’s strong event production expertise and leadership.
Expanding London Venue Partnerships
This acquisition expands the scope of Encore’s hotel and venue partnerships in London, a city that consistently leads Cvent’s list of top European meeting destinations. Encore currently partners with 48 hotels and venues, but has 2,200 hotels and venues partners in 21 countries.
Eclipse’s current venue partnerships include the city’s main convention center, ExCeL London; three major sports stadiums (Allianz, formerly Twickenham, London Stadium, and Tottenham Stadium); conference hotels such as Intercontinental London Park Lane and Sofitel London St James; and venues including the Royal Opera House, Searcys at the Gherkin, the Royal College of Surgeons, and Tower Bridge Walkways.
Growth of Eclipse
Eclipse currently operates with a team of around 120 staff. The company had a revenue of $27 million (£20.7 million) in 2024, representing 35% year-on-year growth and a gross margin of 51.3%, according to accounts filed with Companies House. The documents also mention a $730,000 rise in fixed assets, which included key investments in technology, following a larger investment of $1.8 million in 2023.
Eclipse was founded in 1988 and current CEO Robin Purslow joined in 2007 after it merged with Live Productions, a company Purslow had founded. In 2016, he took sole ownership of Eclipse through a management buy out from all other shareholders, and has grown the company organically ever since.
While Eclipse’s activities are mainly UK focused, records show it grew significantly in the U.S., where its revenue went from $1.6 million (£1.2 million) in 2023 to $5.8 million (£4.5 million) last year.
“With Encore’s global resources and expertise, we’ll be able to deliver even greater solutions to our valued customers and venue partners in the UK and beyond, while maintaining the creative strengths and trusted relationships Eclipse is known for,” said Purslow.
Encore Returns to Non-Organic Growth
Encore announced a raise of new equity for growth in June of last year, after Bloomberg reported it was in talks with private credit lenders for as much as $2.8 billion to address upcoming debt maturities.
At IMEX America in October, Erwin shared an optimistic business outlook for 2026. “I think there will be a little bit of pent up demand from things that were disrupted this year, as people tried to make sense of some of that economic uncertainty, to making sure that they get a jump on the ball in 2026. The world settles in, hopefully, with a little bit more confidence and corporates want to spend.”
This is the first acquisition announced by Encore since its rebrand from PSAV in January 2021. Over the last 10 years it acquired multiple companies globally that were later consolidated under the PSAV brand. In the EMEA region, it acquired UK-based AVC Live and Hawthorn in 2015 and 2017 respectively. It also acquired KFP in 2016, marking an expansion into Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The company changed private equity ownership from Olympus Partners and Goldman Sachs to Blackstone in August 2018. It made its most recent acquisition in the region 2019, a different company also named Eclipse with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.
Cvent, another event company under Blackstone ownership, has made five acquisitions since it was acquired in June 2023, the latest being spatial tech company Prismm in April.
