We're pleased to announce a successful new partnership with growth-focused private equity firm, ECI. This investment sees ECI take a majority stake in the business, enabling our leadership team to continue scaling as a global leader in digital-first, tech-enabled marketing over the next five years.
Following a highly competitive selection process, ECI was chosen as the ideal partner for Croud’s next stage of growth, with a clear alignment of ambitions and values. The award-winning private equity firm has a successful track record in media, data and technology investments including MiQ, Investis Digital, Imagesound and Clarity Blue.
In partnership with ECI, Croud is set to expand the business through further acquisitions and organic growth. The investment will enable us to retain our leadership in media, data and creative services benefiting current clients, such as Amazon Prime, Aston Martin, Coach, Nespresso and the VF Group (including Timberland), who will continue to access the most competitive marketing capabilities.
The transaction marks an exit for LDC, the private equity investor which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, following a successful five-year partnership. LDC made a £30m minority investment in Croud in 2019, backing our co-founders Luke Smith and Ben Knight to accelerate global growth and M&A activity, and our business has since grown threefold. This is attributed to:
- A disruptive operating model conceived at Croud’s inception. This includes our Croudie Network, a global marketplace of 2,900 digital marketing domain experts. They deliver, alongside our in-house digital marketing specialists, cost-efficient resourcing and flexibility. Enabled by Croud Control, our proprietary tech platform delivering AI-powered planning, workflows, automation and execution of digital marketing campaigns.
- Geographical expansion with our rapid growth in the US market under the leadership of Kris Tait, US MD and Dean Gardner US COO, driven by major account wins including Nespresso, and the recent Vert Digital acquisition (Atlanta-based digital media agency) growing Croud’s US footprint.
- Portfolio breadth, with the acquisition of Born Social and its strong leadership under Ben Tyson, CEO, and Charlotte Hamill, COO. The award-winning social-first creative agency has gone on to win prestigious clients such as Barclays and Ford, as well as expanding its Diageo relationship with Smirnoff in the US and achieved a 45% CAGR since its acquisition.
- Acquisition and successful integration of acquired media, data and technology companies, such as Impakt Advisors (data advisory) and Metageni (a leading attribution services and platform provider) to accelerate the growth of Croud’s marketing technology business.
Core to delivering this strategy has been the experienced leadership of the business. Last year we appointed Avinash Kaushik, the Google Senior Executive, as Global Chief Strategy Officer and Board Director. More recently, we appointed Rick Stallings as Croud's first Global Chief Data Officer, and Dani Jordan as our first Chief Marketing & Integration Officer.
Luke Smith, Founder & CEO of Croud, stated, “We’re delighted to be partnering with ECI for the next phase of Croud’s journey, maintaining our independence, while capitalising on new opportunities and innovation. This sale marks a significant milestone in our long-term growth plans. We ran a competitive and thorough search to find the right partner. We chose ECI for their expertise in our space, their shared passion and enthusiasm for Croud and we felt a strong cultural alignment with Tom, Rory and team.”
“We’ll use this partnership to further accelerate strategic acquisitions and organic growth. As we’ve been saying for a while, there’s so much ahead of us as a business.”
“We thank David Andrews and the LDC team for being a supportive and impactful partner over the past 5 years. We are very much looking forward to the next chapter with ECI, let’s go!”
Rory Nath, Investment Director at ECI commented: “We were impressed by Croud’s digital-first strategy, investment in tech and AI, and commitment to talent, as demonstrated by their recognition in Campaign and Sunday Times’ Best Place To Work lists. The business has outperformed the market through its Croudie model, ensuring speed, scale, and efficient delivery for clients. We look forward to continuing to invest in the technology and people alongside Luke Smith and Ben Knight whose energy, focus and determination will help inspire the team to deliver our ambitious vision together.”
David Andrews, Partner at LDC, added: “When Luke and Ben founded Croud in 2011, they brought a truly disruptive mindset to an established market. Their ability to innovate and invest in the right areas has set them apart from the competition and underpinned their remarkable growth, both here in the UK and overseas. They’ve also achieved this while continuing to create opportunities for their people and being independently recognised as a great place to work. It’s been a real pleasure to support their vision over the past five years and seeing them move into their next chapter with ECI is something we’re incredibly proud of, and a testament to the world-leading agency they founded and built together.”
The deal, which exchanged in October, is pending completion, expected next month.
