Yorkshire app agency marks 10 years in businesses with £250k reinvestment

A boutique mobile app company, which is marking its 10th anniversary this year, is set for further expansion over the next five years.

With offices in Huddersfield and London, Common Agency has been a service-based organisation since becoming established in 2005.

However, the entrepreneurial company now plans to reinvest £250k of profits over the next 18 months, with an aim of achieving further diversification through the launch of two new products.

The decision to go in a new direction comes as Common is celebrating its tenth year in business.

At the time of inception, in October 2005, founder Ben Childs was worried he was entering the world of mobile design too late. But it soon became apparent that, whilst technology was evolving at a rapid pace, the wider business community wasn’t actually ready.

He said: “I did some fantastic design work for companies such as Orange and HTC, but beyond that, most brands were pretty fearful of all things mobile.

“However, in 2010 I had a chance meeting with experienced retailer and self-confessed technology aficionado Simon Howship. We met for lunch the next day, realised we shared a passion for the potential of mobile apps and the rest, as they say, is history. We decided to reposition Common as a dedicated mobile app design and development business and Simon became my business partner and MD of the reshaped company.”

During the next five years, Common entered the world of high volume transactional native apps for the retail industry. Having worked for clients including Moonpig, PhotoBox and Cow & Gate, Common has since launched Android and iOS apps in 16 countries, in 10 different languages, and with more than 30 million downloads and updates from the app store to date.

In the same period, the company’s workforce has grown from five to 12, and turnover has grown by more than 500%.

Simon also commented: “We have a lot to be proud of when we look at Common’s journey to date. We took a brave decision in 2010 to solely focus on native mobile app development, and that decision has paid off. Our headquarters remains at The Media Centre in Huddersfield, where the company has been based from the outset, but the technically connected world allows us to work with clients in London and beyond.

“We’ve stayed true to our mobile focus too. Rather than trying to be one of many ‘super agencies’ in the region, we’ve chosen instead to work with expert ‘partners’ – the ‘Common Collective’ – when we need to complement our in-house expertise or skills.

“And this will stand us in good stead for further growth. Typically 86% of consumers’ time on smartphones is spent in apps, whilst only 14% is spent on mobile websites. Consumers are also more likely to transact via an app, than they are on mobile web. Yet despite Barclays’ statistics which forecast that mobile spend will rocket from £9.7bn to £53bn by 2025, 68% of retailers still have no m-commerce strategy. By investing heavily in more development, and new skill sets, we’re positioning ourselves to take an even bigger slice of the market.”

Common will complement its bespoke native mobile apps for retail with the alternative of a best practice retail app product – RAPP – a solution designed to break down the barriers and simplify retailers’ decision to embark on an app strategy.

Whilst RAPP has been soft launched online, Common’s second product is being kept firmly under wraps, for now. Simon concluded: “Our £250,000 profit reinvestment in less than two years will further develop our already successful business and enable us to incubate our new product offerings. This is the start of a very exciting next decade for Common.”