The Mission Acquires Speed Communications
The Mission Marketing Group plc has acquired Speed Communications from Writtle Holdings, which will result in the merger of Speed and Bray Leino PR to create a separate standalone PR business and will continue to be known as Speed Communications.
The new agency, with revenues in excess of £5m, will see the existing management – comprising of Kate Bosomworth of Speed, Alison Weir and Kelly Pepworth of Bray Leino – combine to form a team of managing partners.
Roberta Fuke of Bray Leino will become CEO and deputy chairman with Will Whitehorn, who has worked closely with Kate and the Speed team for the last three years, on board as non-executive chairman.
Based in London Bridge, Speed currently employs 25 staff and works with a portfolio of global brands and clients from across the technology, sport and media sectors including adidas, GSK, Lucozade Sport, The Economist and The FT.
Bray Leino PR, employing 40 staff and with offices in Bristol and London, work with national and international clients including Virgin Media, Samsung, Remington, RAC and Wincanton.
According to the new agency, the three managing partners will focus their combined energies on ‘driving accelerated growth through their three respective areas of specialism.’
Commenting on the merger, new CEO Roberta Fuke said: ‘Speed and Bray Leino individually have extremely impressive track records of success. By combining the talents of the teams the opportunity to create a major new force in the PR industry is significant. Combine that with the fact that the culture, approach and ambitions of each consultancy are amazingly similar and it made the decision to merge the two businesses one of the simplest decisions we’ve ever had to make.’
Kate Bosomworth added: ‘We’ve always been ambitious for growth and this merger allows us to create an extremely exciting new business, led by a highly experienced management board. The merger will deliver real synergy – enabling our Clients and teams to benefit from extended expertise and so deliver the big ambitions of all. To say we’re looking forward to the future together would be to significantly underplay just how delighted we are to be joining forces.’
The newly combined agency will represent a separate Specialist Activity Agency in the portfolio of the communications group, and report directly to the mission board.
