Naboo strengthens its UK presence with pro-ven
Founded in 2005, pro-ven supports major corporations and international organisations in managing their meetings and events procurement.
Its services cover hotel and meeting venue sourcing, supplier selection, rate negotiations, internal approval workflows, invoicing and payments.
By joining Naboo, the British company brings an established corporate client base and expertise in managing complex events programmes.
The combination is intended to bring together this operational experience and Naboo’s technology platform, particularly its capabilities in artificial intelligence and procurement automation.
According to the two companies, the combined business now manages $300 million in event spend worldwide.
The transaction value and financial terms have not been disclosed.
London becomes an operational hub for the group
The integration of pro-ven directly strengthens Naboo’s international organisation.
The British company becomes Naboo’s UK headquarters, retaining its teams and existing commercial relationships.
Its founder and Managing Director, Julian Laxon, will continue to oversee UK operations.
pro-ven’s clients will retain their existing contacts and commercial terms while gaining access to Naboo’s technology tools and international network.
This structure is designed to preserve pro-ven’s close commercial relationships with major UK corporate accounts while combining venue sourcing and procurement management capabilities.
Naboo now has offices in Paris, London, Hamburg, Barcelona, Montreal, New York, San Francisco and Singapore.
A new milestone following a $70 million funding round
The transaction comes during a period of rapid international expansion for Naboo.
Founded in 2022 by Maxime Eduardo, Antoine Servant, Lucien Bredin and Jean-Louis Villeminot, the company has progressively expanded from its original corporate event booking activities into comprehensive MICE procurement management.
In February 2026, it raised $70 million, primarily from Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from its existing investors.
According to the company, cumulative funding since its creation has reached $100 million.
This financial capacity supports Naboo’s international development and investment in its platform.
The group now reports a workforce of 180 employees, a client base including Arkema, Veolia, AXA, Google, Siemens, Meta and Microsoft, and exclusive contracts with a quarter of CAC 40 companies.
The integration of pro-ven complements this strategy by providing an established commercial and operational presence in the UK market.
Artificial intelligence at the heart of meetings and events procurement
Naboo recently launched a new version of its platform designed to bring together the requirements of event organisers and those of corporate procurement and finance departments.
The platform automates several stages traditionally handled separately: venue identification, supplier enquiries, offer comparisons, contracting, expenditure approvals and payment.
The company reports average savings of 12% on event expenditure through its tools. This figure, presented by Naboo, is not an independently verified measure applicable to all its corporate clients.
The objective is also to improve budget visibility and procurement compliance, particularly for organisations operating across multiple sites and subsidiaries.
“Above all, we are a service company,” emphasises Maxime Eduardo, founder and CEO of Naboo, who intends to use technology to reduce administrative tasks and devote more resources to supporting clients.
The group now offers services covering events of all sizes, with no minimum spend requirement.
What are the implications for hotels and conference venues?
For hotel operators, this consolidation comes at a time when procurement departments within major corporations are seeking greater control over their MICE expenditure.
Historically, the sale of meeting and conference facilities has relied on a combination of direct commercial relationships, event agencies, specialist intermediaries and booking platforms.
The emergence of centralised systems is gradually changing this structure.
Hotels may benefit from access to international procurement programmes, but they must also meet increasingly demanding requirements for pricing transparency, proposal turnaround times, contracting and compliance.
Control over commercial data, supplier listing conditions and distribution costs are therefore becoming decisive factors in relationships between hotels and platforms.
For hotel groups, this development could accelerate the integration of MICE sales into broader distribution and revenue management strategies.
A global market estimated at $400 billion
Naboo estimates the worldwide corporate meetings and events market at approximately $400 billion.
Despite its scale, the sector remains fragmented, with numerous agencies, local suppliers and administrative processes.
The company believes that procurement automation, increasingly enabled by artificial intelligence, is creating opportunities for industry consolidation.
Through pro-ven, Naboo intends to strengthen its positioning against established business travel providers and corporate events specialists.
The company now claims to be the leading independent specialist in events procurement management and venue sourcing, although this assertion depends on the scope and criteria used to compare different operators.
LTH Analysis | MICE distribution enters a new phase of consolidation
Naboo’s integration of pro-ven reflects a structural transformation in the distribution of corporate meetings and events.
For procurement departments, the appeal of centralised platforms lies in consolidating expenditure, standardising processes and negotiating across international volumes.
For hotels, the implications are more complex.
These platforms can generate new commercial opportunities, but they also strengthen the negotiating power of intermediaries in a segment historically driven by direct relationships between hotels and corporate clients.
Hotel operators’ ability to protect their margins, demonstrate the value of their services and retain control over client relationships will therefore require particular attention.
The issue now extends well beyond meeting room bookings: it concerns the entire corporate events value chain, from venue selection through to final payment.
At a Glance
Transaction: Naboo integrates UK-based pro-ven.
Announcement date: 27 October 2026.
Sector: Meetings & Events procurement and venue sourcing.
Combined event spend managed: $300 million.
Transaction value: Undisclosed.
Acquirer: Naboo, founded in France in 2022.
UK company: pro-ven, founded in 2005.
Naboo CEO: Maxime Eduardo.
pro-ven founder and Managing Director: Julian Laxon.
UK operations: pro-ven becomes Naboo’s UK headquarters.
Global footprint: Eight offices across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.
Naboo workforce: 180 employees, as reported in the announcement.
Funding: $70 million raised in February 2026; $100 million cumulatively.
Technology: AI-powered sourcing, procurement workflows and payment management.
LTH perspective: Increasing concentration of corporate MICE procurement and its implications for hotel distribution, pricing and supplier relationships.
