The sale by Reed Elsevier of its b2b magazines division could be thwarted by the fact the company is holding on to its exhibitions, the Financial Times reports.

Without exhibitions, selling the b2b arm “may be tricky” according to The Lex Column of the FT, “given that most potential trade buyers embed exhibitions within their print publishing divisions”.

But a competitor to the company suggested that Reed would not prevent buyers setting up related shows.