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Our network offers a wealth of specialisms as we strive to harness new technologies, provide impartial advice, deliver incredible creativity and challenge industry conventions. Across 15 Agencies in 24 offices in the UK, Asia and the USA, we are utterly dedicated to helping our Clients grow and succeed.
A specialist Pricing and Market Access consultancy, RJW’s global market access capability extends the Group’s breadth of support available to Clients across the health and wellness spectrum. As part of themission healthcare operating board, RJW now works alongside world-class medical communications Agency Solaris Health and health & wellbeing specialist Vivacity.
Together, these businesses provide an enormously compelling offer for existing and new Clients alike.
When Agencies join themission, we support and grow the entrepreneurial spirit that made us want them to be part of the Group. We make sure these entrepreneurs keep being entrepreneurs – creating an inspirational ethos across our network, along with a stronger offering for our Clients. No wonder 95% of the leaders who join us, stay with us.
Our entrepreneurs are dedicated to developing and exploiting the latest innovations, platforms and tech to connect our Clients with their audiences in compelling ways.
Launched in July 2017, this is an initiative created to explore the potential of emerging technologies and develop transformative products. By sharing knowledge across the Group – with regular interactive events and initiatives – fuse sets out to maximise the potential of ideas from our 15 Agencies and 1,000+ individuals. Our range of exciting products currently features:
2018 sees the launch of Ignition, a competition that allows anyone in themission to submit an idea for any type of product or service. Shortlisted entries will pitch their ideas to the fuse Ignition panel, and one winner will receive investment to develop their idea.
That’s why we encourage our staff to share skills and insights at every level. Our Agency founders sit on our Board, along with a non-executive core that ensures compliance and independent shareholder representation. This means a continuity of leadership with a diversity of ideas. And with a huge range of talent across the network as whole, our Agencies can partner together to offer best-in-class service.
Our collaborative approach has also created lasting, profitable relationships with many Clients giving us good visibility of future revenues. In fact, we estimate that over 80% of our revenues recur year-on-year.
We enhance our offer with acquisitions that add new disciplines or improved services to our network. In deploying the Group’s capital, we support existing management who have demonstrated an ability to grow and to achieve sustainable high profits and margins.
We also target new high-growth market sectors – along with service or technology opportunities – which meet strict return on investment criteria. Plus, we look at businesses that are core to our current activities and whose growth can be accelerated by joining the Group.
David founded Bray Leino, the Group’s largest Agency, in 1974 and was its CEO until 2008. He became Non-Executive Chairman of Bray Leino in 2008 and was appointed Chairman of themission in April 2010. Before founding Bray Leino he worked in a number of London advertising agencies including Dorlands.
Peter is a Chartered Accountant with nearly 30 years’ financial and management advisory experience in private and quoted companies across a range of industry sectors. Finance Director of Business Post Group plc (now UK Mail Group plc) from 1999-2006, he helped take it into the FTSE 250. Peter supported themission through its refinancing in April 2010 and joined the Board in September 2010.
An entrepreneur and PE investor with significant experience in marketing services. In 1986 Julian co-founded what is now FTI Consulting, one of Europe’s largest business communications consultancies and following its sale in 1999, became COO of Lighthouse Global Network. In 2001 he joined US-based PE firm Lake Capital before co-founding Iceni Capital in 2006, investing in UK-based business services companies. He joined the Board in October 2015.
Chris was a founder partner of Big Communications, brought by themission in 2005 prior to its AIM listing in 2006. Chris has over 35 years’ industry knowledge having previously been Managing Director of Cogent Elliott, one of the UK’s top three regional advertising agencies. Chris stepped back from an operational role and was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in December 2009.
Dylan is Chief Creative Officer of bigdog and was one of the founding partners of Big Communications. He had built a successful business by the age of 24 and this was used as the bedrock for the launch of Big Communications in 1996. Dylan oversees all creative output for bigdog across three UK locations. Dylan was appointed to the Board in April 2010.
Chief Executive of bigdog, James started out Client-side before working for various agencies within the global networks that are Omnicom and WPP. He created balloon dog in 2008 having led an MBO of Fox Murphy. balloon dog was acquired by themission and James was appointed to the Board in October 2012.
Robert is Chief Executive of ThinkBDW, a company he founded as Robert Day Associates in 1987 at the age of 22. Re-branding as ThinkBDW in 2004, Robert has led the company to its position as the leading property marketing specialist in the UK. The business was acquired by themission in March 2007 and Robert joined the Board in April 2010.
Giles joined Bray Leino in 2005 as Group Finance Director following his successful role in transforming Merrydown plc from its fundamental financial restructure in 2000 to its acquisition in 2005. Giles was appointed CFO/COO of Bray Leino in 2011 and Executive Chairman in 2013 and has overseen many acquisitions and strategic investments. He was appointed to the Board in March 2013 and became Group Commercial Director for themission on 1 January 2018.
Sue is Chief Executive of Story and started her advertising career at Branns in Cirencester before moving to Edinburgh to head up One Agency. She left in 2002 and, alongside three colleagues, set up Story, an award-winning creative and direct communications Agency. Story was acquired by themission in 2007 and Sue joined the Board in June 2012.
After working at some of the best regional agencies in the UK, Mike founded Chapter, along with his two Creative Director partners, in April 2009. The three of them went on to build Chapter into an award-winning, internationally respected creative Agency. themission acquired Chapter in November 2015 and Mike was appointed to the board in January 2016.
Fiona is Chief Executive of April Six and AprilSix Proof and has worked in the technology industry for nearly 25 years, holding both Client and Agency positions, with some of the world’s largest technology brands. Fiona was a founder of April Six and has managed its success as a well-respected global technology Agency with offices in London, San Francisco and Singapore. Fiona joined the Board in April 2010.
Up 6% to £70.0m (2016 to £65.9m)
Up 70% to £9.1m (2016 to £5.3m)
Up 10% £7.7m (2016 to £7.0m)
Total debt including contigent acquisition liabilities reduced by £1.5m
Up 11% to 7.12 pence (2016 to 6.41 pence)
Up 13% to 1.7 pence (2016 to 1.5 pence)
56% of revenue in 2017 was from Clients of 5+ years standing.
In April we acquired RJW, the Pricing and Market Access consultancy, to bolster our commitment to Healthcare and expand our offering as they partner with our communications Agency, Solaris Health. The four Directors who manage RJW are true experts in their field and very highly regarded by the industry. We are already seeing positive signs that this was a very good decision.
Other than continuing to build our network of Agencies, our focus in 2017 has been to establish our FUSE innovative technology group and to develop two internal initiatives that will drive our future and help us achieve our stated margin objective and efficiencies across the Group.
Our SHARED SERVICES project is about bringing together back office functions and other mutually required services into a more cost-effective, centralised pool from which all of our businesses will benefit. Our CONCINNITY project is a more formal grouping of our three operating areas of Integrated Generalists, Sector Specialists and Activity Specialists into working teams to identify new opportunities and pool resources in a way that adds value to our Clients and ensures our competitivity. This further strengthens our culture of shared purpose, collaboration and Client Service which saw us add over £5m of new revenue in 2017, including a major three year global win for our Events Business from the DIT. Other leading Companies such as Ribena, Lenovo, NEFF, The Royal Mint, TNT and Mars joined our Group last year.
The Marketing World is ever changing and complexity has the potential to confuse and misdirect where the focus needs to be. It is our job not to be gongoozelers and idly stand by but to embrace new technologies, navigate our Clients through the plethora of options out there and help them build clearly-focussed campaigns that build their businesses.
So as we set sail into 2018 there is real optimism within the Group built on the successes of the past.
If I look back on our journey to date since restructure we have almost doubled our revenues and trebled our profits, reduced our bank debt by nearly two thirds, introduced and maintained a progressive dividend policy, increased our global footprint, embraced technology and introduced a host of innovative services. And above all, developed a group of highly talented industry professionals who get things done with a minimum of bafflegab.
All of which I believe has created a platform from which 2018 will be another positive year and our long-term growth will be inevitable.
David Morgan
Chairman
April 2018
