FreeAgent at Accountex:
Evolving a Multi-Year Stand Design
Posted by Richard | Posted 28/05/2025 | Updated 20/05/2026
Our partnership with FreeAgent began at Accountex 2023, making 2026 our fourth consecutive year working with the digital accounting software leader. Every year, the team makes strategic updates to the design to keep their exhibition stand fresh and optimise the layout, resulting in a truly flagship 196-square-metre island stand at the Excel London.
By treating this major space as an evolving design narrative, we are able to introduce exciting new features each year while protecting and reusing the high-quality structural foundations we built from the very first show.
What’s New for 2026: Designing for Impact and Engagement
To elevate the exhibition stand experience for 2026, we focused on three key areas: immersive technology, high-level brand visibility, and playful gamification.
1. Integrated Video Presentation Wall
We integrated a massive video wall into one of the main structural towers to create a dedicated presentation area. This was complete with wireless headsets to block out hall noise and comfortable cube seating, making it easy for attendees to focus on live software demonstrations.
2. High-Visibility Rigged Ceiling Banners
The rigged ceiling banners were double their previous height. These featured illuminated FreeAgent logos across each side, ensuring maximum brand visibility across the entire exhibition hall.
3. Interactive Branded Claw Machine
We added a new interactive, branded claw machine as a playful way for visitors to win custom merchandise, driving high foot traffic and encouraging social interaction on the stand.
The Foundation: Seamless Branding and Universal Accessibility
Beyond the 2026 upgrades, the stand maintained the premium features that have made this partnership successful from previous years. Lightboxes wrapped in custom wooden slatted surrounds provided elegant, warm branding zones across the perimeter.
Accessibility remained a core priority for this build. We incorporated ramped edging, modified demo stations for wheelchair users, and a considered layout flow to make the entire space welcoming to everyone.
Where It Started: The Original Accountex Launch
The core architectural layout of the stand was designed and launched for the 2023 show. This highly successful footprint established the foundational elements that we continue to evolve today.
The challenge
The challenge was to create a highly playful, social event space within a massive 14-metre by 14-metre footprint. FreeAgent needed clear, dedicated areas for product demonstrations and informal meetings. The space also had to be highly visible and accessible from multiple angles, particularly given its position next to the busy Accountex show theatre.
Our work
To address this challenge, we built a spectacular stand centred around a pair of soaring four-metre-high towers wrapped in seamless, vibrant graphics.
The modular design of these core structures ensured future reusability, allowing us to seamlessly adapt and upgrade the stand for subsequent shows.
The Central Bridge
A custom-designed bridge linked the two towers, decorated with floating cloud lights and integrated lighting to create a striking visual feature from every angle.
Interactive Play
The design featured a custom giant labyrinth game with a competitive digital timer and leaderboard, which became a major focal point for attendee engagement.
The Coffee Bar
A custom-built wooden coffee bar provided a relaxed space for informal discussions and networking.
Demo Stations
Multiple dedicated demo stations allowed the FreeAgent team to easily showcase their cloud accounting software.
Standing the Test of Time: 2024 and 2025
This structural foundation proved incredibly successful. The layout worked so well that it remained largely unchanged through the 2024 and 2025 shows, with minor styling and graphics updates to keep the space fresh. This longevity provided FreeAgent with an exceptional return on investment, proving that a well-planned initial design can serve a brand for multiple years without requiring a costly structural overhaul.
Evolving into the Future
The success of the structural layout established in 2023 gave us the perfect canvas for our 2026 upgrades. By retaining the core architectural towers, central bridge, and premium branding zones, we were able to focus FreeAgent’s budget on high-impact additions like the video wall and interactive claw machine.
This multi-year approach proves the value of sustainable, modular exhibition design. Having worked with FreeAgent since 2023, we have demonstrated how a flagship stand can grow, adapt, and continue to deliver incredible results year after year while maximising the client’s return on investment.
Ready to get started?
A free consultation with our team will give you a clear roadmap of costs, timelines, and fresh design ideas guaranteed to make your brand the main attraction.
Ready to start? Book a meeting with our exhibition specialists, Miles 📅 or Ben 📅 at a time that works for you.
Prefer to talk now? Call us on +44 (0)800 4647974 or email us at hello@graphicmill.co.uk
