Dundee events firm Red Pepper has purchased Origin Events, an Edinburgh based agency.
Red Pepper director Eleanor Whitby believes that not only is the buy-out a massive statement of intent on the part of Red Pepper, but it is also a signifier of the buoyant cultural status of Dundee as a city increasingly accustomed to international conferences and events.
Origin Events is a niche consultancy with special interest in conference provision and support within the legal, women’s healthcare and housing sectors.
Not only are the clients an attractively diverse addition to the Red Pepper client base, but Eleanor Whitby believes that the purchase of Origin’s IP in the form of two bespoke software packages, will be a major bonus to the Dundee firm, allowing them to continue with an ambitious growth plan that will bring further employment in their home town.
Since forming in 2005, Red Pepper Events have entertained over 333,000 people at events as diverse as The Monaco Grand Prix and BP’s International Conferences on the one hand and Arbroath’s Sea Fest and Dundee’s NEoN Digital Arts Festival on the other.
Eleanor says: “Origin’s cutting edge conference booking and integrated accommodation platforms set the standards for our industry, making the process of attending their conferences easy and streamlined. That’s extremely attractive for our clients, and their event delegates. It puts Red Pepper in a fantastic position to extend the level of client service our reputation in the industry is founded upon.”
“Typically you’d expect a Dundee firm to be the subject of an Edinburgh agency buy-out rather than the other way around. So this is a very important moment for the city. It justifies Red Pepper’s decision to be based here for the last 11 years and it also shows just how far Dundee has come as cultural force in the last decade.”
Lizzie Fisher and her business partner Denise Pinto founded Origin in 2004 and are delighted to sell to a company that shares their values and can ensure ‘business as usual’ for their clients.
Lizzie says: “Our paths have crossed regularly over the years and I have nothing but the utmost respect for Eleanor and the job she’s done at Red Pepper. When Denise and I decided to explore other options in the events sector it became imperative to ensure that we’d have professionalism and continuity assured for our existing clients and staff. We couldn’t be happier that Red Pepper are carrying on our work.”
