Sentio Partners has advised Definition Agency, the multi-award winning reputation management agency group with offices in London, Leeds & Dubai on its acquisition of Redhouse – the highly regarded, London-based brand strategy and creative design agency – in a move that further bolsters the Group’s ‘inside out’ communication delivery for major brands, business leaders, organisations and Government.
The deal marks Definition’s second acquisition in under a month and its third in under three years following its purchase of leading employee engagement agency Words & Pictures earlier in November and London-based Limelight in 2018. The transaction enhances the ability to drive brand creation, recognition, engagement and growth for clients, through seamlessly integrated internal and external communications.
Redhouse is one of the country’s leading branding and creative agencies having worked with Government and global corporations to create and communicate engaging brand and issues-based campaigns. It has won over 120 national and international awards for its work and has a heavyweight public sector portfolio including HS2, HM Parliament, UK Export Finance, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Environment Agency, as well as major corporate clients including Pearson, the Institute of Physics, The Institute of Asset Management and EDF Energy.
The enlarged, multi-million pound turnover group has a combined 70 years of experience working for global brands and Government across brand creation, reputation management and employee engagement. It ranks in the Top 5 specialist B2B PR & communications agencies in the UK and boasts a combined tally of over 400 UK and international awards, covering a wide range of highly-regarded work in corporate and public sector communications.
The Group’s differentiated service that delivers ‘inside out’ brand and communication strategies will now be supported by teams comprising corporate communication experts, brand and design creatives, internal communication and employee engagement specialists, reputation and crisis management professionals, former national print & broadcast journalists, content producers and digital marketing teams.
The acquisition will see Redhouse Managing Director Fiona Corey join the Definition Agency Group Board.
The deal follows a run of industry accolades for the Group during November with Definition being named as B2B Agency of the Year in the PR Moment Awards 2020 and Words & Pictures scooping a staggering eight class wins and awards for communication excellence at the Institute of Internal Communications Awards including Best Campaign, Best Magazine, Stand-Out Communication, Imagery and the Tom Dawson Award (the Grand Prix award).
Nigel Howes, Chairman of Definition Agency Group said: “We have a bold and ambitious growth strategy based on a shared vision of the future. Our aim is to deliver significant value to our clients by acquiring and leveraging a range of complementary skills and services. Redhouse is a very good strategic fit because branding sits at the heart of everything we already do in reputation management at Definition and employee engagement at Words & Pictures. Its expertise extends our sector specialisms into Government and, through major departmental contracts, also strengthens our credentials in the transportation and education sectors.”
Fiona Corey, Managing Director of Redhouse said: “For over 30 years, blue-chip companies, government departments and public sector organisations have called on Redhouse to create meaningful connections with their internal and external audiences. The ability to blend the Group’s PR, external reputation management and internal communications services into our offer through a ‘one-team’ approach will not only be of major benefit to our clients but also offer fantastic new career opportunities for our people.”
Funding for the acquisition was provided by ThinCats (Ben Kimball). Corporate finance and debt advisory services were provided to Definition by Andy Miller and Matt Tollefson at Sentio Partners. Legal advice on the transaction was provided to Definition by Dahren Naidoo and Megan Atack at Freeths and to ThinCats by Andrew Curtis at Clarion.
