MANY Albion fans will know Ray Bloom for his long-standing family association with the club.

Fewer will be aware that away from his football directing duties he has helped build two of the biggest global conferences in the world from an office in Hove.

As chairman of Regent Exhibitions, Ray has combined a lifetime of business experience with technological innovation to create IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America.

After it was founded in 2003, Regent has gone from strength to strength, expanding into America with events in Las Vegas in 2011, hosting its biggest ever IMEX events last year and recording a total group profit of £3.4 million in 2014 – up more than a million pounds on 2013.

The uniqueness and success of the events can be traced back to Ray’s early days in the incentive travel exhibition business in the 1980s.

He founded leading UK event Incentive Travel, and EIBTM, now global leader IBTM World, which he sold to world leading organiser Reed Exhibitions.

It was here he pioneered the 'hosted buyer programme', an innovative way of creating certainty for prospective attendees.

The idea was to pay the air fares and accommodation for top buyers to attend the events, giving companies confidence and certainty attendance would be worth their while.

The concept has been developed at IMEX with new technologies allowing for a complex pre-event appointment system between exhibitors and buyers.

The concept has paid off, with IMEX Frankfurt hosting 3,500 exhibiting companies from 150 companies over more than 30,000sqm in 2014.

Nearly 5,000 trade visitors and 4,000 buyers attended with 65,000 appointments made.

Ray explained: “When we started there was no internet.

"Many people feared that the effect the internet would hav on their business.

“But we embraced it completely. The technology has certainly enhanced what we do. The customer appointment system has greatly enhanced the experience for exhibitors.

“I’m not tech savvy myself but we've got great people who are and I knew what we could achieve with it.”

Before events, Ray started out at the family VW dealership in Hove. He also founded the Good Bean Coffee chain with daughter Carina Bauer which was later sold to Coffee Republic. Carina has worked with her father at Regent since the start and is now chief executive. Nephew and Albion chairman Tony is also listed as a director.

Despite its international outlook, Regent employs 50 people from offices at The Agora building in Hove, due to Ray’s love of his hometown.

“Because our business is so international our office could be anywhere. The fact we’re here is because our family is here and it’s where we want to be.”