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The Hoffman Agency Acquires UK Tech Specialist Ccgroup
(MENAFN- PRovoke)
LONDON - US-headquartered global technology firm The Hoffman Agency has trebled the size of its business in the UK, with the Acquisition of leading London-based independent B2B tech PR and marketing specialist CCGroup.
CCGroup CEO Richard Fogg and COO Paul Nolan, who have both been with the agency for 20 years and led it through an MBO in 2012, will assume the roles of co-MD of the combined entity. They will report to The Hoffman Agency's European MD, Jenny Fieldgate, who joined the firm last May as former European lead Mark Pinsent stepped into a consultancy role.
The Hoffman Agency's global revenue for 2024 was up 14% to more than $30.3m, mainly from its US heartland and its thriving operation in Asia; Europe has been the agency's smallest market until now, contributing just under 10% of that total ($2.9m) last year. Last year, CCGroup's revenue was £4.8m with recent new client wins including Samsung .
Under the terms of the deal – which have not been disclosed – The Hoffman Agency's team of 16 in London will join the larger CCGroup to create a team of 50 in the UK. In turn, CCGroup's team will join 300 Hoffman colleagues in 19 offices in 13 countries around the world. The CCGroup name will be gradually phased out, but there will be no redundancies leading from the acquisition.
“With the addition of CCGroup, we go from 'small but mighty' in London to a 'force of nature,'” said Lou Hoffman, CEO of The Hoffman Agency.“When we evaluated potential fits in the UK last year, CCGroup graded out at the top of the list. As our discussions with Rich and Paul shifted into serious mode and so many factors aligned - culture, belief in integrated campaigns, vision, ambition, dry sense of humor, etc. - joining forces seemed almost like a fait accompli.”
The Hoffman Agency's multi-market proposition is gaining traction, with 31% of its revenue coming from clients supported across two or more regions, said Hoffman:“With the addition of CCGroup, we now have the scale to tackle virtually any global assignment that falls under the tech umbrella. I say tech umbrella and not tech companies because non-tech companies are now coming to us for support in telling their tech-led stories.”
There are no client conflicts as a result of the acquisition, as the agencies' portfolios are complimentary: while CCGroup's strengths lie in mobile and telecoms, cyber security, enterprise, analyst relations and integrated marketing, Hoffman additionally has substantial experience in hardware, quantum computing, AI, SaaS and data centres, as well as offering corporate and crisis communications, brand and design, and employee communications.
Fogg, Nolan and Fieldgate spoke to PRovoke Media about the deal, with the new leadership trio of Hoffman UK agreeing that the cultural fit between the two agencies was a critical factor.
“Culturally, Hoffman is really strong: no matter where you are, it feels the same all over the world, with a similar outlook and work ethic,” said Fieldgate.“Lou founded the agency on a people-first ethos and CCGroup is very much also people-first. Cultural alignment is super-important. We have a similar view on the world, on technology and specialization. We're telling tech stories for any organisation, that's our superpower and we love that CCGroup has that as well.
Fogg said that culture had always been on his and Nolan's“bucket list” for any acquirer of CCGroup, which was recently named as one of PRovoke Media's 50 Best Agencies in the UK :“We wanted an independent with an international footprint, sector specialism, an integrated approach, a fantastic cultural fit, and a great reputation as a place to work. Hoffman ticks all those boxes – we're excited for the deal but also excited for the future.
“These are good human beings, these are our people. We've turned down a handful of approaches over the past few years because we weren't feeling it. Culture is everything. Agencies are just collections of people and we owe our team that got us this far a duty of care. There's no compromise here.”
Nolan added that there were "powerful synergies" between the two firms:“For me it wasn't just about business but also about the people and whether we would chime with each other. Jenny and Lou were good at putting themselves in our shoes – CCGroup has been our obsession for 20 years, and we were reluctant to let something that powerful go without knowing we were in the right hands. They gave us the confidence we were doing the right thing. It felt right, very early on.”
Fogg also disclosed that the seeds of the deal had been sown in 2023 with a PRovoke Media podcast:“Paul and I joined the podcast to talk about our 10th anniversary since the MBO and our EMEA Technology Agency of the Year win, Lou heard it and called for a chat, and we've been talking about the market ever since.
“Early on he asked if we were open to selling and we weren't ready. In honesty, we were two or three years off going to market, but last summer Lou and I were having one of our regular catch-ups, and a key item in his strategic road map was beefing up in the UK as a critical global hub, as lots of US agencies have set up from scratch in the UK or buy too small and struggle to build up. Lou said, 'this is going to happen, so are you interested?'”
Fieldgate said she had joined Hoffman with the remit to grow the European business and with the knowledge that Hoffman was looking at potential acquisitions, but“never in my wildest dreams did I think it was going to be on this scale.”
She said:“CCGroup is so well known in the industry, we've competed for a long time and respected everything they've done. It fits in with Lou's vision: big in the US, big in AMEA, and meeting that with a bigger UK and European offer.”
Looking to the future, Fieldgate said once integration of the two agencies was underway, she would be looking at expanding Hoffman's European operations further through multi-market work and finding new partners, while Fogg and Nolan would run the UK entity.“Our ambition is to be the de facto tech agency for multi-market briefs, so clearly, growth is number one on our agenda so we can compete on the biggest briefs.”
Fogg said that ambition was enhanced by the timing of the deal:“The timing is excellent in terms of the market starting to exhibit signs of life again. We are absolutely buzzing. It's simultaneously strange and rewarding to have sold CCGroup - we're still pretty young and have a lot of road left to run. We grew up in the company, bought it, and now we're exiting with an amazing platform. It's going to be so cool.”
CCGroup CEO Richard Fogg and COO Paul Nolan, who have both been with the agency for 20 years and led it through an MBO in 2012, will assume the roles of co-MD of the combined entity. They will report to The Hoffman Agency's European MD, Jenny Fieldgate, who joined the firm last May as former European lead Mark Pinsent stepped into a consultancy role.
The Hoffman Agency's global revenue for 2024 was up 14% to more than $30.3m, mainly from its US heartland and its thriving operation in Asia; Europe has been the agency's smallest market until now, contributing just under 10% of that total ($2.9m) last year. Last year, CCGroup's revenue was £4.8m with recent new client wins including Samsung .
Under the terms of the deal – which have not been disclosed – The Hoffman Agency's team of 16 in London will join the larger CCGroup to create a team of 50 in the UK. In turn, CCGroup's team will join 300 Hoffman colleagues in 19 offices in 13 countries around the world. The CCGroup name will be gradually phased out, but there will be no redundancies leading from the acquisition.
“With the addition of CCGroup, we go from 'small but mighty' in London to a 'force of nature,'” said Lou Hoffman, CEO of The Hoffman Agency.“When we evaluated potential fits in the UK last year, CCGroup graded out at the top of the list. As our discussions with Rich and Paul shifted into serious mode and so many factors aligned - culture, belief in integrated campaigns, vision, ambition, dry sense of humor, etc. - joining forces seemed almost like a fait accompli.”
The Hoffman Agency's multi-market proposition is gaining traction, with 31% of its revenue coming from clients supported across two or more regions, said Hoffman:“With the addition of CCGroup, we now have the scale to tackle virtually any global assignment that falls under the tech umbrella. I say tech umbrella and not tech companies because non-tech companies are now coming to us for support in telling their tech-led stories.”
There are no client conflicts as a result of the acquisition, as the agencies' portfolios are complimentary: while CCGroup's strengths lie in mobile and telecoms, cyber security, enterprise, analyst relations and integrated marketing, Hoffman additionally has substantial experience in hardware, quantum computing, AI, SaaS and data centres, as well as offering corporate and crisis communications, brand and design, and employee communications.
Fogg, Nolan and Fieldgate spoke to PRovoke Media about the deal, with the new leadership trio of Hoffman UK agreeing that the cultural fit between the two agencies was a critical factor.
“Culturally, Hoffman is really strong: no matter where you are, it feels the same all over the world, with a similar outlook and work ethic,” said Fieldgate.“Lou founded the agency on a people-first ethos and CCGroup is very much also people-first. Cultural alignment is super-important. We have a similar view on the world, on technology and specialization. We're telling tech stories for any organisation, that's our superpower and we love that CCGroup has that as well.
Fogg said that culture had always been on his and Nolan's“bucket list” for any acquirer of CCGroup, which was recently named as one of PRovoke Media's 50 Best Agencies in the UK :“We wanted an independent with an international footprint, sector specialism, an integrated approach, a fantastic cultural fit, and a great reputation as a place to work. Hoffman ticks all those boxes – we're excited for the deal but also excited for the future.
“These are good human beings, these are our people. We've turned down a handful of approaches over the past few years because we weren't feeling it. Culture is everything. Agencies are just collections of people and we owe our team that got us this far a duty of care. There's no compromise here.”
Nolan added that there were "powerful synergies" between the two firms:“For me it wasn't just about business but also about the people and whether we would chime with each other. Jenny and Lou were good at putting themselves in our shoes – CCGroup has been our obsession for 20 years, and we were reluctant to let something that powerful go without knowing we were in the right hands. They gave us the confidence we were doing the right thing. It felt right, very early on.”
Fogg also disclosed that the seeds of the deal had been sown in 2023 with a PRovoke Media podcast:“Paul and I joined the podcast to talk about our 10th anniversary since the MBO and our EMEA Technology Agency of the Year win, Lou heard it and called for a chat, and we've been talking about the market ever since.
“Early on he asked if we were open to selling and we weren't ready. In honesty, we were two or three years off going to market, but last summer Lou and I were having one of our regular catch-ups, and a key item in his strategic road map was beefing up in the UK as a critical global hub, as lots of US agencies have set up from scratch in the UK or buy too small and struggle to build up. Lou said, 'this is going to happen, so are you interested?'”
Fieldgate said she had joined Hoffman with the remit to grow the European business and with the knowledge that Hoffman was looking at potential acquisitions, but“never in my wildest dreams did I think it was going to be on this scale.”
She said:“CCGroup is so well known in the industry, we've competed for a long time and respected everything they've done. It fits in with Lou's vision: big in the US, big in AMEA, and meeting that with a bigger UK and European offer.”
Looking to the future, Fieldgate said once integration of the two agencies was underway, she would be looking at expanding Hoffman's European operations further through multi-market work and finding new partners, while Fogg and Nolan would run the UK entity.“Our ambition is to be the de facto tech agency for multi-market briefs, so clearly, growth is number one on our agenda so we can compete on the biggest briefs.”
Fogg said that ambition was enhanced by the timing of the deal:“The timing is excellent in terms of the market starting to exhibit signs of life again. We are absolutely buzzing. It's simultaneously strange and rewarding to have sold CCGroup - we're still pretty young and have a lot of road left to run. We grew up in the company, bought it, and now we're exiting with an amazing platform. It's going to be so cool.”
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