Publisher Mark Allen Buys Travel Retail Specialist

Sector-based news, information and research provider The Mark Allen Group has announced the acquisition of Sixth Continent Holdings, which owns travel retail and airport commercial revenue intelligence and events firm The Moodie Davitt Report. Terms were not disclosed.

Mark Allen publishes and runs events in a wide range of sectors, many of them focused around healthcare and engineering but also including music, leisure, finance and others. Titles include the likes of PrintWeek and The Engineer.

The Moodie Davitt Report was founded by Martin Moodie in 2002 and covers the full range of travel-related markets from travel retail to dining, advertising to foreign exchange, and other airport commercial revenue streams. It runs three major events, partners with other events around the world and publishes newsletters, eZines and magazines. Its co-owners, founder and Chairman Martin Moodie and company President Dermot Davitt (pictured left and right respectively), will stay with the business following the sale along with their experienced teams, forming a new division of the Mark Allen Group, MA Travel Retail.

'It is exceptionally rare to find such a brilliant business as this' says Mark Allen. 'Over recent years, the company has enjoyed exceptional growth. Extraordinarily, it even made a very good profit in 2020, the height of the pandemic, when other similar publishing and events businesses were floundering'. CEO Ben Allen adds, 'we have in Martin and Dermot two superstars who care passionately about the business and who will stay with us to develop it even further'.

Moodie comments: 'I have poured my heart and soul into this business over the past 22 years and I am thrilled that this agreement with another family company will both protect and grow that legacy'; and Davitt says of the new owners: 'With their support we aim to stretch our market leadership through our unrivalled industry relationships, our innovation drive and a relentless focus on delivering the highest-quality business intelligence and events to our loyal audience'.

Web site: www.markallengroup.com .