Partner Article

St Ives Group announces strong financial year as it pushes international boundaries

St Ives Group, the international marketing services business, has today unveiled impressive financial results for the year ended 31 July 2015. Its strong performance is based on international expansion as well as clients buying into multiple areas of the group, according to chief executive Matt Armitage.

Business highlights included in the group’s preliminary statement include:

• Strong financial performance for the year, reflecting further growth in Strategic Marketing which contributed 46% (2014 – 37%) of underlying operating profit.
• Further increase in collaboration, with over 100 clients using services of more than one Group business (2014: 82), including Johnson & Johnson, Carlsberg, Royal Mail and Pizza Express.
• Continued international growth, with Incite opening an office in Shanghai and Amaze winning its first major e-commerce project from its new Chicago office; over 30% of Strategic Marketing revenue is now generated from clients based outside the UK.

Matt Armitage, Chief Executive, said: “This has been a very good year for St Ives, with a strong financial performance driven by further growth from our Strategic Marketing businesses.

“Once again there was clear evidence of our ability to collaborate across our individual businesses to the benefit of our clients, with the level and quality of internal referrals increasing further during the year. In 2015 more than 100 of our clients used the services of more than one business within the Group. In line with our strategy, during the year we acquired Chicago based Solstice Consulting, a leading mobile-first marketing and technology business which is integrating well into the Group.

“Following the year-end we also acquired Fripp, Sandeman and Partners, a specialist retail property consultancy, which will work closely with our Pragma Consulting business, particularly in the airport, travel and commercial space sectors. The past year also saw continued growth from our international operations. Our market research consultancy, Incite, opened an office in Shanghai, to complement the offices we have opened in New York and Singapore, with the business winning its first new client mandates in the region at the end of the financial year. In addition, Amaze, one of our digital businesses, won its first major e-commerce systems integration project from our newly opened Chicago office.”

Armitage added: “Our strategy for further growth is centered around three key priorities: organic growth through collaboration and investment in our existing marketing services businesses; internationalisation, primarily client-led, into large and high growth markets; combined with further acquisitions of complementary, ambitious and growing strategic marketing businesses, which share our common attributes and ethos.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jessie Winston .