Jeremy Harbour, styrelseordförande för The Marketing Group plc, har aktivt arbetat med att förvärva och avyttra bolag i Storbritannien och har undervisat i företagstransaktioner i Europa och Asien. Under sin 20-åriga karriär har Jeremy personligen genomfört fler än 50 förvärv och avyttringar men även agerat rådgivare vid fler än 200 M&A-transaktioner.
The Marketing Group plc grundades i maj 2015 med affärsidén att samla framgångsrika marknadsföringsbolag under ett tak. Under första kvartalet 2016 förvärvade Bolaget fyra bolag inom marknadsföring: One9Ninety (marknadsföring på sociala medier), Black Marketing (marknadsföring på LinkedIn), Nice & Polite (creative content) och Creative Insurgence (brand activation).
Samtliga bolag är lönsamma och utan räntebärande lån. Bolaget är en koncern bestående av en rad oberoende marknadsföringsgrupper, var och en med specifik expertis och innovativa tjänster. Koncernen stödjer dotterbolagen genom ledning, samordning, rådgivning samt en gemensam operativ plattform att verka genom.
Detta är en del av en intervju med Jeremy Harbour som ursprungligen publicerades på www.stockpicker.se:
Jeremy Harbour, Executive chairman of The Marketing Group, is a Singapore based entrepreneur with a truly global focus, owning investments in twelve countries and having bought and sold over 40 companies, and advised on around 100 more. He lectures all over the world on the subject of small to medium enterprise M&A with a focus on distressed and motivated acquisitions.
Please give our readers a short introduction of The Marketing Group plc
The Marketing Group plc is a United Kingdom based acquisition oriented marketing services agency. We acquire best of breed small to medium sized marketing services providers with a weighting towards the new economy (digital), and the faster growth areas of marketing like content, audience, social and mobile. We currently consist of four companies covering Europe and South East Asia (APAC). The portfolio companies are all well established, profitable, debt-free and their CEO’s are leaders in their particular fields. Our clients are blue chip companies including the likes of Apple, Citibank, Procter & Gamble, Adidas and Jimmy Choo to name a few.
Can you elaborate on The Marketing Groups business model?
Our portfolio companies’ CEO’s are our major shareholders. We are acquiring new companies to join the group using stock to create fully vested member companies. Our Board of Directors represent an M&A team, and the marketing expertise is delivered through the exceptional leaders we have running our subsidiaries. Our future growth will be driven by acquisitions around the world as well as organic growth through our subsidiaries.
What differs The Marketing Group from its competitors?
The Marketing Group is 100 per cent focused on creating shareholder value for our founding directors and our external investors. We can do this because our group company is not client facing, we can let our subsidiaries deliver the very best customer experience, while we focus on driving the fundamental value of the enterprise. Our growth is predictable as it is achieved by acquisition, so we are not exposed to risks of sales campaigns not working.
What is the reasons for this IPO at Nasdaq First North Stockholm?
Liquidity is important, not only of the market but also the currency and we believe that Nasdaq First North has the best reputation, a euro listing and good liquidity as well as a path to migrate to main market, without having to change exchange. As a global company we can take a global view of the best market for our needs.
According to you, why is buying shares in The Marketing Group a good investment?
Most IPOs look to exit or to raise money, they are leveraged and overvalued, and reliant on future earnings to succeed and on potential of future contracts with clients for growth. The Marketing Group is profitable, established, debt-free and with an amazing team of accomplished entrepreneurs, we are fairly priced based on existing (not future) earnings and our growth is predictable as it is through acquisitions and we have a stellar record of completing acquisitions.
Where do you see the Marketing Group in five years from now?
Forward looking statements are always difficult, however we believe we can be in the top 50 global marketing businesses worldwide, well within that time frame.
