Nineteen Group has acquired FIT Show from Montgomery Group, with the windows, doors and glazing exhibition retaining its identity and sector focus ahead of its return to the NEC Birmingham, UK from 18–20 May 2027.
The acquisition brings FIT Show into a built environment events portfolio that includes InstallerSHOW, Professional Woodworking Expo, PlantWorx and London Build. It follows Nineteen’s acquisition of Professional Woodworking Expo from Montgomery earlier this year.
Members of FIT Show’s existing team will remain with the event, which attracts around 10,000 visitors and more than 200 brands.
FIT Show event director Nickie West said: “This is an exciting step for FIT Show and the industry we serve. We’re joining a group that understands the built environment and the value of bringing specialist communities together, with the resources and expertise to help us build on what we already do well.
“For our exhibitors, this is about opportunity. We want to help more of the right people discover their products, meet their teams and do business with them. Nineteen’s wider marketing reach and knowledge of the construction sector give us more scope to connect with relevant new audiences, alongside the fabricators and installers at the heart of FIT Show.
“Just as importantly, it gives our team additional support to build on the relationships, sector knowledge and work already going into the 2027 event.
“The message to our community is simple: FIT Show remains FIT Show. Our identity, our dedicated focus and our commitment to this industry remain. We’re building on those foundations, not moving away from them.”
The event brings together businesses across the supply chain, including manufacturers, suppliers, fabricators, installers, architects, specifiers, builders and developers.
Michael Costain, managing director of Nineteen Group, said: “FIT Show has earned a loyal following across the windows, doors and glazing industry, and we’re proud to welcome it into Nineteen Group. It complements our existing events naturally, connecting the people who make, supply and install windows and doors with the wider construction and interiors community we already serve. Our focus is on working with the team, exhibitors and partners to make sure FIT Show keeps delivering for the fabricators, installers, manufacturers and specifiers who rely on it.”
Preparations for the 2027 exhibition are continuing, with the team working with exhibitors and partners on their participation and the event’s line-up.
West added: “Our focus is firmly on May and helping the businesses taking part make the most of FIT Show. Whether you’re launching a product, demonstrating machinery or looking to get in front of new customers, we want to hear about your plans.
“There is real value in getting your products and your people in front of the market. We’re looking forward to working with Nineteen, our exhibitors and our partners to build on that opportunity for 2027 and beyond.”
Why This Matters: After eight years under the ownership of the Montgomery Group, it’s now time for new owners for the FIT Show. During this time, Montgomery has cemented the FIT Show’s reputation as an essential showcase of products and services for the UK fenestration sector. Nineteen Group is probably a natural home for the event, given its portfolio of exhibitions in the built environment.
Two events within the portfolio will be of particular interest and are worth close attention. London Build is an event rich in knowledge, delivering a strong programme of seminars that helps attract a high calibre of visitor. This is an area the FIT Show could develop further, drawing on the excellent content delivered by London Build.
InstallerSHOW is another successful event and attracts 40,000 installers from heating, plumbing and the wider built environment. The fenestration sector is distinct in nature and sits firmly outside this audience. This probably explains why the FIT Show has been so successful. Its distinct identity remains central to its appeal. From the early days, creator Matthew Glover understood that fenestration was very much its own sector, with a clear identity, rather than one to be merged into the wider built environment. This was demonstrated when the earlier Glassex exhibition was merged into Interbuild and became very much a ‘sideshow’.
No doubt there will be ambitions to create a ‘mega’ installer show to encompass all trades. There is hope within the fenestration sector that the FIT Show will remain a standalone event and avoid the path towards becoming an event alongside InstallerSHOW, eventually being swallowed up as part of a mammoth built environment installer extravaganza.
