Orders worth £310m were placed during IMEX in Frankfurt, according to a post-show survey of nearly 1,000 buyers.

This figure represents a rise of nearly 12.8 per cent on 2010, when £275m worth of business was done. The buyers also stated that they expected to place orders valued at a total of around £1.3bn in the nine months following the exhibition.

IMEX group chairman, Ray Bloom, said the results gave further credence to a continued upswing in overall market activity and optimism.

“Once again we are delighted to see a measurable uplift in the levels of business that IMEX in Frankfurt has produced,” he said. “We will continue to innovate, to develop new partnerships and to launch new business tools – such as this year’s mobile app – to ensure that buyers and exhibitors can mine every last inch of business value from their time at the show.”

He added: “With the launch of IMEX America a matter of just two months away we have an additional opportunity to prove that the IMEX model really does deliver well for all of its participants.”

The surveyed buyers were also asked whether they would consider placing business in one of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) in the coming year. Thirty-three per cent replied that they either already had or would consider proposals for placing business in one or more of these countries.