Expansion plans after buy-out

DUNDEE’S events firm Red Pepper has announced its plans for expansion following the purchase of Origin Events, an Edinburgh-based agency.

Since forming in 2005, Red Pepper Events has entertained more than 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.

Red Pepper director Eleanor Whitby believes not only is the buy-out a significant statement of intent on the part of Red Pepper but it is also indicative 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.

Eleanor said she believes the purchase of Origin’s intellectual property in the form of two bespoke software packages, will be a major bonus to the Dundee firm, allowing them to continue with its growth plan.

Eleanor said: “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.

“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.”