Outdoor ads firm bought by Ocean Group
A MANCHESTER-based outdoor advertising company has been bought by a private equity-backed London-based rival.
Trafford Park-based MediaCo Outdoor, which holds the Manchester City Council outdoor ad sales contract, has been acquired by Ocean Group for an undisclosed sum.
Founders and directors Mark Wardle (MD) and Richard Blackburn (commercial director) have left the business as a consequence. Four former colleagues are remaining.
Ocean Group said the deal “significantly strengthens” its national footprint and position as the premium large format provider in London, Birmingham and Manchester, ranked the UK’s top 3 cities for total advertising spend.
Chief executive Tim Bleakley said: “MediaCo Outdoor and Manchester City Council have worked collaboratively and tirelessly together to build a truly state of the art portfolio across the city, to the mutual benefit of the people of Manchester and the business community alike.
“The entire Ocean Group team is committed to furthering this great work and using our unique offering across the UK’s top three cities to drive growth in the medium and offer advertisers a compelling network.”
Mark Wardle added: “This is a very exciting development for Manchester and I look forward to seeing how the portfolio evolves in the coming years.”
Richard Blackburn said: “We have built up some unique products and innovative trading models and I’m delighted we are passing on the baton to the Ocean Group, who share our ethos and, we believe, are an ambitious partner who will take the business to the next stage.”
The large-format digital sites, like those over the Mancunian Way, will be rebranded as Ocean.
Wardle and Blackburn were both shareholders in MediaCo Outdoor alongside MediaCo, a print company that branched out into outdoor media when it won the 10-year Manchester City Council contract in late 2010. Wardle is also the managing director of MediaCo.
Graham Small and Colin Mellor of Manchester law firm LHS Solicitors advised the MediaCo management team on the deal. Mr Small added: “We’ve advised MediaCo Outdoor and its management team on legal matters for many years and this is an excellent deal for everyone concerned.”
Ocean is backed by Sarchlight Capital Partners.
