FCM Meetings & Events acquires fresh to boost UK creative

Acquisition quadruples UK team to 100

FCM Travel’s MICE arm has made its first acquisition, buying fresh, a brand‑experience agency whose clients include Visa, Vodafone, M&S, Currys, Siemens, Hyundai, Co‑op and Samsung. The company describes the move as a milestone in its growth trajectory and its vision for the UK meetings and events market. Bringing the two businesses together will take the UK headcount to nearly 100 specialists and add hubs in Manchester and Edinburgh to complement the London base.

This combination is designed to offer a single point of access that combines event logistics, production, communications and content, backed by an in‑house creative studio. FCM M&E highlights an integrated value chain spanning experiential design, content creation and audiovisual production. The UK unit will operate in tandem with established bases in Australia, India and Mexico, and contribute to roll‑out across 19 markets. Services include venue sourcing, travel logistics, strategic meetings management, event management, AV production and post‑event reporting.

“The fresh acquisition doesn't just expand our footprint to fulfil the trend for in-person events; it fundamentally transforms what we can deliver for customers. We now have world-class creative business, brand experience expertise, and full-scale production capabilities under one roof,” said Frits de Kok, Head of Meetings & Events, EMEA at FCM M&E.

FCM M&E says it is seeing sustained demand for in‑person events and a renewed focus on the attendee experience. “This is a game-changing moment for FCM M & E and our clients across EMEA. We have experienced a 50 per cent increase in business year-on-year from 2025 to 2026, demonstrating strong market demand,” de Kok said. According to its Trends Report 2026, 76.5% of professionals rank attendee experience among their priorities. By integrating a creative agency at the core of its offer, the group says it aims to streamline planning and production while giving clients greater visibility and measurable return on investment.

FCM M&E cites more than 20 years of expertise and a global team of over 350 specialists in events and group travel. For its part, fresh, founded in 2004, delivers activations for major brands across telecoms, technology, retail, FMCG, finance, automotive, education and the public sector.