Naboo has just announced the acquisition of Pro-ven in the United Kingdom. Is the acquisition of this venue finder an equivalent of what you could have done in France with the acquisition of Biz Meeting in 2024?

Lucie Arnoux – Yes, exactly. Pro-ven has been present in the United Kingdom for twenty years and has extensive knowledge of the market, with a prestigious portfolio including Unilever and Sony. The opportunity was perfect to leverage our complementary strengths and bring the client relationship expertise of Pro-ven’s teams on board, with customers retaining their preferred contact persons.

Through Pro-ven, you buy a portfolio of clients, but you also increase your offer of event venues.

L. A. – We are indeed increasing our client portfolio, but we are also strengthening our partner profile, supported by a more important, consolidated and structured demand. In terms of a hotel or an event venue in the United Kingdom, Naboo is able to provide it with a regular volume of business, with an international scale. It is therefore a win-win situation for the hotels and for our clients. Moreover, being present internationally allows us to consolidate much more volume from all the companies we support. We are therefore becoming increasingly influential in the face of global suppliers such as Accor or IHG.

To establish itself overseas, or more recently in Asia-Pacific, Naboo has gone through the opening of local offices. Here, it is an acquisition. Why this strategy?

L. A. Simply because this acquisition allows us to expand more quickly in a mature market. We already had an office in London, and the United Kingdom was already one of our first markets, even before this acquisition. But thanks to Pro-ven, we will benefit from this player’s recognition in the market. All of this is orchestrated from a new headquarters, with a top-notch team that has built trust relationships with major international clients.

This operation was made possible by your €70 million fundraising from Lightspeed. Is the amount of this acquisition public?

L. A. – No, but we can communicate the volume of business for Pro-ven, which is 30 million. Once consolidated, we will manage 300 million dollars in event expenses.  

Naboo has ambitions to become a global leader. This inevitably meant a significant presence in the United Kingdom?

L. A. – This acquisition is a matter of accelerating towards our ambition: to be the world leader in the management of meetings and events procurement as quickly as possible. This is a decisive step, more important than simply opening an office. The United Kingdom is a hub for meetings & events. It is one of the largest markets, where many large international groups manage their procurement for Europe, and sometimes globally. This was therefore a priority and strategic market for us in the short term. However, the United States is really in our sights. And that will be our priority for 2027.

Before moving on to your ambitions overseas, is strengthening your position with American companies in the United Kingdom also a way of consolidating it?

L. A. – Indeed, it is a gateway to international companies that have offices in London and the United States. But the potential of the American market is much more important in terms of volume of business. The behaviors there are also different from those of the United Kingdom and Europe, with much more responsive purchasing departments. And therefore, there is a potential for faster expansion.

American companies are often less hesitant to turn to new players like Naboo, compared to more established ones. Does your offering meet their expectations?

L. A. – What we offer meets the needs for visibility and control of purchasing departments, but also for speed and quality of execution for event teams. We can source different locations very quickly and have a quote within a few hours at the best price. Americans, whose decision-making process is quite fast, have this expectation of efficiency and speed, and we meet that. And our «native AI» side speaks to their taste for innovation.

The United States, priority for 2027

You have been based in the United States for just over a year. I suppose without any regrets.

L. A. – The results exceed our expectations. We are experiencing an acceleration that we did not expect. We were able to grow without even having a sales team. But thanks to the recruitment of local sales representatives, the volume of business managed in the United States is growing rapidly. We have offices in New York and Montreal and we have won tenders from major players, including European ones, who have local offices in the United States. Among these clients, we can mention, for example, L’Oréal, GE Waters and Plaid. And we are also starting to have contacts with tech players.

The first customers of a start-up are often companies that share its image, technological companies. Is this your preferred market or do you also target customers from other sectors?

L. A. – Our native AI business image speaks a lot to American customers, especially in the tech sector. We already have a very robust pipeline of players in this sector and are still working to expand it. But developing relationships with major US companies, not just in the tech sector, is part of our priorities.

In this context, while the United States is your priority for 2027, do you plan to rely solely on organic growth, or could you also consider external growth?

L. A. – We are not denying the need to grow through external growth. The United States is a huge market, and speed will be a key factor in our success. Our sales team is in place and we are even strengthening it. But to continue to accelerate and cover the entire territory, this is a growth dimension we can consider for 2027.

Singapore as a hub, China in the crosshairs

Let’s change our perspective and move to the other side of the world, in the Asia-Pacific region, where you recently opened offices in Singapore and Australia. What supports your development in this region?

L. A. – Basically, we had French clients, large groups like Arkema or Veolia, who organized seminars and collaborative events all over the world, especially in Asia-Pacific. These clients need visibility and consistency with the same purchasing rules and the same level of requirements worldwide. Without a common platform, each subsidiary of these companies buys on its own, with its own suppliers who have their own rules. But in recent months, we have noticed that this demand is not limited to our existing clients. There was a strong demand for event organization in Asia-Pacific. And we are building our offering there with reliable local partners and a team that is very familiar with the practices of this market.

How will you spread your wings in the region?

L. A. – Our goal is to make Singapore our regional hub. From there, we cover events organized in the countries of the region. But we also want to densify the network of providers, first in Australia, which is a huge MICE market. Then, China is also one of our priorities. This country is truly on our agenda.

How do you envision your development in China?

L. A. – We are willing to open an office there to obtain the right to operate in China. The local practices are quite particular, and there is a real need for expertise to meet the requirements and customs. That is why it is in our interest to have expert teams from this market. Thanks to this local expertise, we could reach, in the long term, less European groups and more Chinese ones.

The Middle East, Africa, South America: could all these regions be potential development areas in the future?

L. A. – For now, our priority is to continue to grow in Asia-Pacific and, above all, to be very present in North America. We are not looking at Africa or South America very much at the moment. As for the Middle East, we have activities there, but no office. And the MICE market is what it is at the moment there.

To conclude, you have the ambition to become the world leader. What are the competitors that you should surpass to achieve this?

L. A. – Is it really a question of competitors to surpass? Naboo wants to stand out with its value proposition and its international scale, which is currently quite unequaled. We cannot speak of competitors in the strict sense of the term. An Amex, for example, does not have the same value proposition as a Naboo. We are really talking about a combination of artificial agents, customer service, and international scale. We are convinced that this is the only way to become this global leader, without having a competitor in our sights.