Zone boosts growth strategy with £6m investment deal
Independent digital agency Zone has taken a £6m investment of equity finance from The Business Growth Fund (BGF) to support its growth plans in both the UK and Europe.
The investment will support Zone’s UK and European acquisition plan to further enhance the agency’s offering, particularly as it builds on its expertise in technology, data, video, mobile and CRM.
The move bolsters Zone's position as one of the UK last independent digital agencies, in a market which has seen a lot of consolidation over the last year.
Zone managing director Jon Davie said the investment will enable it to build its offering as a "world class" digital agency, while retaining the independence necessary to be able to react and adapt quickly tothe fast-changing digital landscape.
He added: "Zone has always evolved and developed its capabilities and in the past has made acquisitions through cash-flow. The new funds available from BGF will enable us to build on these capabilities and broaden the scope of our services.
"Clients don’t particularly care about the ownership structure of the agencies that they use – they care about the quality of the service and the effectiveness of the work. This new investment will ensure that we will keep to the very high standards that our clients expect of us."
Zone has also appointed Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe’s co-founder Jim Kelly as non-executive director to support its accelerated growth plan. Kelly has been working as an independent consultant to digital, advertising and marketing services agencies since stepping down from his role as Dentsu UK chairman in 2013.
As part of the deal, BGF senior investment manager Mark Nunny will join the Zone board.
Backed by five of the UK’s main banking groups, BGF invests in strong management teams in high-growth businesses.
Zone counts Tesco, Coca-Cola, BT aqnd Channel 4 among its roster of clients.