We believe contractor management should be better
and we’ve been making it happen since 1998
Leadership team
In an industry which is changing as fast as the world in which we live, it takes a great team of leaders to define the direction of a business with big ambitions. Meet our leadership team.
Matthew Hegarty
| CEO & Founder
Matt started as an insurance underwriter while moonlighting as a DJ in London. In the late 90’s he identified a gap in the market to represent hospitality companies that used contractors and Event UK was born.
25 years later, the business now represents many of the largest pub companies in the UK who trust Event to act on their behalf with integrity, exceptional customer service and fairness.
Matt’s team at Event UK are committed to detail whilst making sure that there is plenty of fun in the calendar!
Toby Smith
| Chief Operating Officer
Toby joined Event UK / Justpay Ltd as Chief Operating Officer in February 2023. Prior to joining the Event group, Toby has spent over two decades in senior and executive positions in the UK hospitality industry, creating an impressive track record of both turnaround and buy and build organisations.
After several senior operational and functional roles for Scottish and Newcastle plc, The Spirit group and Laurel, Toby took over as CEO of Town and City Pub company in 2008. Over the following six years Toby led and executed a buy and build strategy that resulted in the business growing from an initial group of 125 to 625 fully managed pubs, bars and restaurants - in the process creating Stonegate, the UK’s largest privately-owned hospitality group.
In 2014, Toby joined Novus Leisure Ltd as CEO. Tasked with delivering a turnaround of the under-performing group, the business was stabilised and returned to growth facilitating the disposal of its trading assets to deliver significant shareholder value.
Prior to joining Event UK, Toby was Chief Operating Officer for City Pub Group plc.
A keen advocate of the UK hospitality industry, Toby is an active member of the leading industry trade body, UK Hospitality.
Peter Boddy
| Non Executive Chairman
Peter joined Event UK in April 2023 and has extensive non-executive experience at board level, including roles at Thwaites plc, Novus Leisure Ltd, Xercise4less and the Harley Medical Group.
Previously, he held the position of CEO or Managing Director in a number of successful private equity backed leisure sector companies including Fitness First UK, Megabowl Group Limited and Maxinutrition Limited.
We are Event UK
We combine experience and technology to introduce and manage employers seeking help and contractors searching for work. Efficiency, fairness, and integrity are forefront in our consideration and approach and drive everything we work towards.
We had to start somewhere, and back in 1998 we first focused on entertainment in the hospitality sector. We’re still helping them, but we’re now firmly (and proudly) multi-sector.
Matthew Hegarty CEO & Founder at Event UK
If you use contractors in your business let’s have a conversation. This solution is our focus and we specialise in making these engagements efficient, leaving our clients to focus on what they do best.
Our most important asset is our people
Professional teamwork is vital for successful operation and this excellence sits at the heart of everything we strive towards.
Over time, we’ve learned first hand the benefits of collaborating with a mix of experiences, age groups and backgrounds to produce an extremely motivated and focused team.
We are a modern family who genuinely care for one another, it’s important that our journey is both fun and enjoyable.
Any queries will be answered by our UK team with pace and precision. Reach out via our in-app chat function, email or phone.
Wherever you are, we have you covered
With years of experience across multiple sectors, we have over 30,000 trusted contractors spread across mainland UK. If you need support in a city or a more remote location, we will be able to help.