Line directors complete buy out from Future 19
Line, the Edinburgh-based digital communications agency, has completed a buy-out from its parent company Future19.
The agency’s directors – Ross Laurie, who founded the agency; Andrew Massey; Ben Ausden and Malky Brown – are now the sole stakeholders in the online firm.
Line was launched as LTK in December 2002 when Laurie teamed up with former Kwik-Fit marketing director and Future19 chairman, Chris Grant, with the new agency launching officially in April 2003.
Line now employs nine fulltime staff and works for a number of high-profile clients including BBC Worldwide, TopGear, Shepherd + Wedderburn, CCL Compliance, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Scottish Equitable, luxury lingerie boutique Boudiche and financial services firm Moneyquest.
Speaking of the deal Laurie said: "We’ve had a great three years with F19 as our parent company but now it’s time for us to see how we get on for ourselves.
“The fact we’ve achieved this in three years is above and beyond what we could ever have hoped to achieve when we set out."
F19 has shareholdings in a number of high-profile companies including Fender Sturrock and Principal and Prosper - the country’s fastest growing IFA – and is now diversifying largely into property and finance.
Line has grown quickly since its launch just over three years ago.
In June 2004 the agency appointed Ben Ausden and Andrew Masse, both formerly senior figures in Navyblue’s digital division.
This year the senior team at the agency was added to further with the appointment of Malky Brown in July. He joined from networked agency IAS Smarts where he was head of digital.