Harrogate communications agency acquires London PR firm

Acceleris, the Harrogate-headquartered communications agency, has acquired London and Dubai-based PR firm Limelight.

As a result of the deal, the new agency will have offices in London, Harrogate and Dubai and will be in the UK’s top 20 agencies with an HQ outside London.

Acceleris says the acquisition of Limelight from founder and chief executive Susanna Simpson is designed to “leverage growth opportunities in the London market, across the UK and overseas.”

Now in its eleventh year and offices in London as well as Harrogate, Acceleris has turnover of £1.1m and a headcount of 15.

Limelight has 10 staff in London and three in Dubai and has revenue of £1.5m.

Simpson will become a shareholder of Acceleris and join the enlarged board of the agency, focusing on growth across the London market. All three offices will continue to operate under their existing names.

Sector specialisms of the new agency will include Transport & Logistics, Tech, Business and Professional Services, Maritime, Health & Wellness and Travel.

Clients include one of the UK’s fastest growing independent energy providers Utilita, enterprise data and software provider Acxiom, domestic travel company Bourne Leisure, car rental provider Nexus, European maritime professionals’ union Nautilus International, and national adult and child care provider CareTech.

Louise Vaughan, Acceleris’ managing director, said:
“This is a strategic acquisition that brings together two highly regarded agencies to create a single, exciting and highly credible new force in reputation management specialising in the B2B, public and third sectors. By leveraging our complementary strengths we will not only benefit from greater scale and geographical reach, but will also offer our clients much greater capabilities. These will be commercially focused services spanning corporate communications, digital and broadcast media, copy writing, content production and crisis and reputation management all of which can be delivered across the UK and internationally.”

Simpson added: “Acceleris acquiring Limelight will help my team and me to take a real step up in terms of what we can offer our clients and our employees. The additional resources and skills provided by Acceleris and its experienced board will enable us to significantly grow and achieve greater ambitions for our clients and ourselves. I am very proud of our past, but more excited for our future. To be working with such a talented combined team to take our new business to the next level is an opportunity for everyone and I am completely confident it will be a big success.”