IFEX has 6,500 visitors every two years to watch the NI Chef of the Year and the ChefSkills competitions which see over 200 student and industry chefs compete over three days. ScotHot welcomes 5,700 industry professionals to the SEC in Glasgow with the event featuring the Scottish Culinary Championships and the Scottish Chef of the Year.

Wand said: “As the world of hospitality recovers and realigns post-pandemic, vibrant business events like IFEX and ScotHot will provide vital meeting places for the industries to reconnect, uncover new learnings and discover relevant technologies to improve their businesses and customer focus.

“These are hugely important events for the hospitality and foodservice industries in both Northern Ireland and Scotland, and I’m proud that 365 Events Ltd will now be well positioned to drive these events forward.”

Over the last decade Wand has successfully directed both events and many other food, drink and hospitality events. ScotHot is scheduled to return in March 2023 and IFEX dates for Spring 2022 will be announced next month.

Lori Hoinkes, managing director of Montgomery Events, added: “It’s been our privilege to grow and nurture IFEX and ScotHot over many years into the vibrant and feature-rich events that they’ve been recognised for, with IFEX winning the AEO Excellence Award for Best Tradeshow Exhibition under 2000m² in 2016.

“The last 14 months have been extremely difficult for us all, but especially our colleagues in hospitality and the wider events industry. As we move forward at Montgomery Group, growing our biggest trade events across the globe, we’re delighted that the new owners have such strong experience in events, specifically in foodservice and hospitality. I wish Toby and Billie well with their future events as we all look towards a brighter future.”