Welcome to our review of PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in 2024.
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JANUARY
Pitches
Iceland appointed Tangerine
Henkel appointed BCW/Burson
Ministry of Justice appointed Kindred
Airbnb appointed The Romans.
M&A
Merger of BCW and H+K to become Burson and create a £1bn + agency.
Bully Pullpit Interactive acquired Boldt.
FEBRUARY
Pitches
“This is often the hangover from the Golden Quarter Pitches that start to get announced.”
Bolt appointed Boldspace.
Burger King appointed The Academy.
British Gas appointed Smarts.
M&A
SEC Newgate acquired a 70% stake (over 5 years) in Athens HQ V+O Group.
Real Chemistry acquired Avant Healthcare -
Havas acquired Ledger Bennett.
MARCH
Pitches
Pepsi appointed Hope & Glory.
“The first change for Pepsi in 14 years. This was a big big brief.”
Taco Bell appointed Earnies.
“You never forget your first win'
Pizza Express appointed Pretty Green.
M&A
MHP acquired La Plage (creative content above the line agency). First acquisition for MHP since its acquisition by Next15.
W acquired Franses,
Havas appointed Wilderness
APRIL
Pitches
William + Grant appointed Exposure.
Shark Ninja appointed Burson
Tinder appointed The Academy
Carlsberg appointed Hope&Glory
EA appointed Premier.
M&A
Accenture bought Unlimited
“In my mind one of the smartest deals that was done this year.”
WPP announced that leading global investment firm KKR has made a growth investment in FGS Global.
“WPP has focused on releasing cash and consolidation and they’ve done that impeccably well.”
“The holding companies and the big private equity firms have all realised that scale is important.”
MAY
Pitches
EDF appointed Tin Man/Lucky Generals
“What we’ve seen in consumer PR is... the agencies who went into the year strongest, have come out even stronger.”
Reebok appointed Brand Nation.
Pringles appointed Mischief MHP.
Unilever appointed Golin
“Nothing beats the UK, no one comes close, in terms of strategic creativity.”
M&A
Pagefield sells to PPHC.
JUNE/JULY
PITCHES
Famous Grouse appointed Pretty Green.
B&Q appointed Romans.
Homebase appointed Aduro.
The Independent appointed W.
WRAP appointed Kindred.
National Grid appointed 9 agencies to a “Community Agency Framework” for next 3 years – Grayling, Cavendish, Lexington, Aecom, Arup, Camargue, Copper, grasshopper, JBP.
M&A
Publicis acquired Influential.
Havas - acquired a controlling stake in Klareco Communications.
Prime Weber Shandwick – MBO.
AUG
PITCHES
Moet Hennessy appointed Earnies - wines and spirits division of LVMH.
Dept for Education appointed Four
Arla Foods -appointed City Press.