Hayfin has led the debt financing to support an investment by Searchlight Capital Partners (“Searchlight”) in CloserStill Media (“CloserStill”), a leading B2B events platform with a portfolio of award-winning trade shows across four sectors. Searchlight and Providence Equity Partners (“Providence”) will have co-control of CloserStill, with Providence having the opportunity to re-invest in the company in order to support the company’s next phase of growth.

The senior-secured facility extends a longstanding lending relationship, after Hayfin first invested in CloserStill in 2018 when supporting its acquisition by Providence. Since then, CloserStill has invested significantly in its talent, capabilities and technology and grown fivefold, expanding from three to four verticals through a combination of organic growth, new event launches and targeted M&A.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in London, CloserStill operates a market-leading portfolio of must-attend, award-winning B2B events across four high growth sectors: Technology, Healthcare, Learning & HR, and Future Transport & Infrastructure. Its flagship events include Ai4, the global Tech Show portfolio, the London Vet Show, Data Centre World, PTE World, Learning Technologies and The Dentistry Show.

Rehan Jiwani, Managing Director at Hayfin said: “With our longstanding relationship with CloserStill, dating back to our original investment in 2018, Hayfin is extremely well placed to continue supporting the business. Over the past eight years, CloserStill has delivered remarkable growth, scaling through a combination of organic expansion, new event launches and targeted M&A. We look forward to working with Gareth and his talented team as they enter this next phase of the company’s development.”

Stuart Mitchell, Director at Hayfin said: “Hayfin has worked with both Searchlight and Providence across multiple high-quality platforms in this sector and built deep experience as a leading investor in the B2B events space over more than 15 years. We are able to provide large‑scale financing solutions that support sponsors in executing their growth ambitions, and we are excited to build on these partnerships through our continued support of CloserStill.”

Gareth Bowhill, CEO at CloserStill Media said: “We are incredibly excited to embark on the next chapter of CloserStill’s evolution and are delighted that Hayfin will continue to be part of our journey. Since first investing in 2018, Hayfin has been a highly supportive partner to our business and our growth ambitions, and we have built a strong relationship together over that time. We look forward to continuing that partnership as we enter our next phase of growth.”

Completion of the transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals.