Gyro Group, one of the largest UK agencies specialising in B2B, has secured a £3 million investment from venture capitalist Octopus Asset Management to enable further European expansion and a buyout of one of the founding partners.
Gary Brine, CEO of Gyro, has co-ordinated the deal which sees him retain his majority shareholding, whilst allowing Graham Dodridge to amicably sever ties with the agency which he helped Brine establish in 1991.
An additional objective was to reward the loyalty of key staff who have been integral to its growth. âWe have a very good track record regarding retention, but I wanted to say thank you to some of the directors. General manager Richard Perry, for example, has been with the agency for 13 years.â
The agency currently employs 165 people with offices in London, Geneva, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Dublin, New York and San Francisco. An office in Hamburg is due to open shortly, and Brine cites Paris, Eastern Europe and Spain as further priorities for expansion. He explains that expansion is client-led and aimed at enabling the agency to better serve its core target of IT, finance and telecoms companies. Current clients include Sun, Sony Ericsson, Oracle, MCI, Deutsche Bank Amex and Orange.
âThe aim is to build a credible one-brand network,â says Brine. âMy aim is to have Gyro Group on the same level as the likes of Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy.â
Brine says expansion aims have persisted despite persistent acquisition enquiries. Gyro Group had a fee income of £12 million in 2004.
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