Investment trust takes ‘significant minority’ stake in social-first marketing agency

Manchester-based social-first marketing agency, Campfire Group, has received an undisclosed investment from  London’s Literary Capital..

The investment firm describes its stake as a ‘significant minority’ holding in a move aimed at supporting and accelerating Campfire’s growth under  founders, Alex Brown and Joe Gradwell’s  continued leadership. 

The duo set up Campfire in 2019, focused on providing technology and data-led influencer marketing services, with the business’s proprietary trend spotting and prediction tool, Spark, at the core of its service offering.

Campfire has completed more than 10,000 influencer collaborations to date, generating impressive engagement rates and return on investment for its clients. The business’s service offering includes influencer marketing, strategy, organic social, paid media, content creation and data analytics. 

The investment from Literacy Capital will support Campfire’s continued growth, both organically and via strategic acquisitions, with a focus on its technology-centric proposition.

Serial digital entrepreneur, Jim Brigden (Non-Executive Chairman), and Paul Cooper (Non-Executive Director) join the business at completion, bringing a wealth of marketing and digital media-related experience from successful operational and advisory roles at Brainlabs, I Spy, The Search Works and Overture.

Alex Brown, Joe Gradwell

The transaction is Literacy’s 24th platform investment since the inception of the Fund in 2017 with Campfire joining a growing group of exciting portfolio companies.

 A Campfire spokesperson said: “This strategic partnership represents a pivotal milestone in Campfire’s growth story.

“With the support of Literacy Capital and the strategic leadership of Jim Brigden, Campfire is poised to achieve extraordinary growth and innovation.”

They added: “Campfire looks forward to the future with great excitement and anticipation.

“This partnership will enable it to explore new opportunities, invest in cutting edge technologies, and expand its reach in the UK market and beyond, with significant opportunities being presented in the US currently which will be a core focus moving forwards.”