Hasgrove rescues Amaze with £600k acquisition
Following the news that technology and digital marketing specialist Amaze had gone into administration, communications and marketing group Hasgrove has stepped into acquire part of the business for £600,000.
Hasgrove, which recently acquired Pavilion and Odyssey to boost its online offering, will inherit more than 90 staff and has drafted in Peter Cookson as the firm’s interim chief executive after the departure of incumbent Stuart Melhuish earlier this week.
Amaze, which was formed in 1995 as an off-shoot from John Moore’s University Learning Methods Unit, will initially maintain its independence, although Hyde has hinted that it could eventually be merged with one of the group’s other agencies.
A statement released by Hasgrove said: “Both agencies initially will continue to operate independently. However, the directors expect that in due course there will be many synergies because of the complementary fit of the businesses.”
Hyde commented: “The core of the Amaze business has been very successful for many years. Redundancies were made by the Amaze board before an administrator was appointed but it still has great staff and a strong proposition, which attracts high profile international clients.
“This is an exceptional opportunity for us to accelerate the development of our digital capabilities. It catapults us into the top 10 in the UK market at least a year ahead of our expectations. Following our acquisition of Pavilion in September, we now have two substantial complementary businesses in digital marketing covering a range of industry sectors.”
Mike Johnstone, director at Amaze said: “We have achieved a great deal as a business and the staff, through their hard work and dedication, have helped establish us as a leading player in the digital marketing industry.
“We aim to continue to build on these solid foundations and take the business forward and the acquisition by Hasgrove gives us the opportunity to continue with our goal to deliver world class, business driven, digital solutions on a European wide basis.
“For our people at Amaze this presents an opportunity to work with a group that invests in their people to continually enhance their skills and expertise as technologists and digital media professionals.”