Are trade shows worth it for a UK small business in 2026?

On 30 July 2026, Informa, the world’s largest exhibitions company, reported its half-year results. Its B2B live events arm grew 8% on an underlying basis, the group’s strongest division, and about 90% of this year’s exhibitor revenue was already booked. Demand for trade shows is strong and the good stands sell out early.

Most coverage read the results as investor news: dividends, buybacks, earnings per share. The part that matters to a small business is simpler. If the biggest operator in the market has already sold most of next year’s space, then the shows your buyers attend are filling now, not in spring. That changes when you should be booking, not whether events work.

What did Informa’s H1 2026 results show?

Informa’s B2B live events division grew 8.0% on an underlying basis in the first half of 2026 and brought in £1,590m. It is the group’s largest and fastest-growing arm. “Underlying” strips out currency moves, acquisitions and the timing of biennial shows, so it is the cleanest read on real demand. The exhibitions unit inside it, Informa Markets, grew 10.4%. Group underlying revenue rose 6.8%. Informa reaffirmed full-year guidance of 7% or more growth for live events. Group chief executive Stephen A. Carter said the company “delivered another period of strong performance and underlying growth.”

The figure to hold on to is booking lead time. Informa said about 90% of its full-year exhibitor revenue at Informa Markets was already secured, and about 85% of this year’s major-brand live-events revenue was already traded or booked. Space at strong shows is committed a long way ahead.

Do exhibitions still work for a small business?

Yes, for the right firm, at the right show, with a plan to follow up. The Informa numbers are a market signal, not proof about your business. Read them with care. Informa is a global operator and the UK is only 4% of its group revenue. Its growth comes from vast international shows like Money20/20, CPHI and Gulfood, not the regional B2B events a Guildford or Southampton SME would exhibit at.

So the honest translation is narrow. You cannot read your own demand off Informa’s results. What you can read is direction: face-to-face B2B is growing, not shrinking, and exhibitor space at popular shows books out early. A show earns its place when your buyers already attend it, when you can staff the stand properly, and when you have a way to capture and work the leads afterwards. Without the follow-up, a stand is an expensive weekend.

A 15-person industrial supplier that sells to buyers who attend one big NEC trade show could book its 2027 stand now at the early-bird rate, brief the stand and the content over the autumn, and arrive with a lead-capture plan and a diary of booked meetings. The same firm taking a leftover stand in March, with no pre-show outreach, would pay more and get less.

When should a UK SME book a 2027 trade show stand?

Now, if the show is one your buyers rate. Informa’s booking data shows the strongest shows commit most of their space a year or more ahead, and the early-bird rates and better positions go first. Leaving it to Q1 means a worse spot, a higher price, or no space at all.

This does not mean booking everything. It means picking deliberately. One well-chosen show your buyers attend beats three you picked because a rep called. It also fits what the wider market is doing: UK marketing budgets are shifting towards events, so the good space gets more competitive each year.

What should I ignore?

The billion-pound investor detail. Informa’s share buyback rising to £350m, the 7.48p dividend, the earnings-per-share maths and the rescheduling of 15 brands out of the Middle East are real, and they are noise for a small business. None of it changes what you do. Ignore too the line that everyone is online now and events are finished. The numbers say the opposite. The largest player in the market grew its live events 8% and is guiding to more.

What to do this week

Three things, each doable in an afternoon.

List the one or two shows your actual buyers attend. Not the biggest, not the nearest. The ones your customers walk. Ask five customers which they go to.

Check the 2027 dates and the early-bird deadline for each. Put the deadline in the diary and get a rough stand budget approved before the Q4 rush.

Decide your follow-up before you book, not after. A stand with no lead capture and no post-show sequence is why most SMEs conclude events did not work.

FAQ

Are trade shows worth it for a small business in 2026?

They can be, for the right firm and show. Informa’s H1 2026 results show B2B live events grew 8% and exhibitor space books out early, so demand is strong. A show is worth it when your buyers attend, you can staff the stand, and you have a plan to follow up the leads.

How far in advance should I book an exhibition stand?

Around a year for a popular show. Informa reported about 90% of its full-year exhibitor revenue was already secured, so the best stands and early-bird rates go first. Booking in the January before an autumn show usually means a worse position and a higher price.

Informa is a giant, why does its data matter to my small business?

It is a market signal, not a mirror. You cannot read your own demand off a global operator where the UK is 4% of revenue. What its booking data shows is direction: face-to-face B2B is growing and space fills early, which tells you when to book, not whether to.

Where Lahat fits

Lahat Creative plans, builds and runs events and exhibition stands for UK businesses, and handles the marketing, PR and content that makes a show pay for itself. We have delivered at ExCeL and the NEC, ran activity around the British Motor Show that lifted ticket sales 21%, and grew the MINI Challenge racing series reach by 156%. If you are weighing up a 2027 show, we can help you pick the right one and make the stand earn its place.

Work with us at lahatcreative.com/contact.