Exhibitor numbers for Brand Licensing Europe 2008 have hit the 100-mark with 10 months still to go. This marks an increase of 12 per cent year on year and sets organiser Advanstar Communications firmly on course to achieve its target of attracting more than 220 exhibitors on to the show floor next October compared to the 196 companies at this year’s event.

The 2008 floor plan includes some of the biggest names in licensing, including BBC Worldwide, The Beanstalk Group, Chorion, Christie’s Images, Dorna Sports, Entertainment Rights, Granada Ventures, HIT Entertainment Consumer Products, Jetix Consumer Products, LEGO Company, Manchester United Merchandising, Target Entertainment, The Natural History Museum, Twentieth Century Fox and V&A Enterprises.

Aardman Animations, Bang on the Door, Chapman Entertainment and RDF Rights have also rebooked, following exciting debuts in 2007; and LEGO, who made a welcome return, has also signed up for 2008. American Retro Museum, Cartoon Network, Ludorum and Punch Cartoon Library are brand new entries on the 2008 exhibitor list.

Melanie Beer, head of licensing, Granada Ventures, said: "Granada Ventures had an amazing show in 2007, one of the best ever, and a high percentage of new leads have already been converted into deals. We had a great retail turnout and Nicole Withers (marketing and retail manager) will be inviting even more buyers to come and see us in 2008. Brand Licensing Europe is key for us and we are hoping for an even better performance in 2008 as our strong portfolio continues to evolve and expand."

Phaedra Haramis, licensing manager with Dorna Sports, added: "Brand Licensing 2007 was an extremely fruitful show for Dorna Sports. We have already signed several new licenses for the MotoGP brand that contacted us through the show this year and we have followed up many other interesting leads. We will most definitely be exhibiting again in 2008!"

Brand Licensing Europe is the only event dedicated to licensing and brand extension in Europe and is scheduled to take place on October 1-2 at Olympia’s Grand Hall in London. A record-breaking 4,294 key players from the industry attended the event in October 2007: an increase of eight per cent on 2006.

For more information about the event please visit www.brandlicensingeurope.com