Mark Allen Group hits £10m EBITDA profit for 2021, predicts revenue rise for 2022

UK-based B2B media, information and event group, Mark Allen Group has posted audited results for 2020-21 which the company’s founder and executive chairman, Mark Allen (pictured), describes as “exceptional”. Although turnover dropped from £54.6m (US$71.36m)  to £43.m, EBITDA increased 21.6%, from £8.4m to £10.2m, and profit before taxation rose from £5m to £6.1m. “Given that this was the first year of the pandemic and we were not able to organise any live events – nearly a third of our revenue – our performance was exceptional. It is a tremendous credit to our entire team, led by CEO Ben Allen, for the way that everyone pulled together to deliver such magnificent results,” Mark Allen said. The executive chairman continued: “At the start of the first lockdown no one had a clue as to what lay in store. We produced three budgets – the good, the bad and the ugly. Our performance was considerably better than our wildest hopes at the start of the pandemic.” He went on: “We were helped enormously by the acquisition of Farmers Weekly which we completed just before the pandemic struck and which has proved a brilliant purchase for us. The government’s job retention scheme was a godsend, but we managed to bring back to full employment nearly all the 156 people we initially furloughed.” Allen said that the performance for 2021-22 would be more impressive with turnover to be close to £60m and EBITDA £13m. “I don’t want to get carried away because the results for 2021 and 2022 are already history and you are only as good as you are today, and tomorrow is another country,” Allen added. “We are never complacent or arrogant. Success is not guaranteed and, if you take your eyes off the ball, make a foolish decision or lose the confidence of your teams, things can rapidly spiral downwards. “It’s very hard to know what’s around the corner and how the year will pan out, so 2022-23 could be a much tougher year. However, one thing I know for sure is that our staff will do everything they can to ensure that we keep on growing and succeeding.”