Broughty Ferry creative agency Altar has acquired a business in Stirling as it seeks to expand its presence in Scotland.
Staff at employee-owned Altar voted in favour of the strategic move to acquire Denvir Marketing, which has five staff.
The combined turnover of the two businesses is in excess of £3 million.
Altar, whose name is inspired by its offices within Broughty Ferry Congregational Church in Brook Street, provides PR, marketing and web design services.
It opened an office in Glasgow earlier this year.
How Altar deal for Denvir came together
Denvir Marketing was founded more than 20 years ago and has clients in the energy, e-commerce, construction and food and drink sectors.
Altar managing director Nial Chapman said acquiring Denvir brings together two of the most trusted names in the industry.
He said: “We have known about Denvir for several years. There have been tenders we’ve both gone for – they’ve won some, we’ve won some.
“Their reputation in the industry is very, very good. We admired them from afar and I think it was probably similar the other way around.
“Unbeknownst to us, Denvir’s managing director Chris George had been talking about succession planning to Louise Grant at (accountants) EQ, who is also our consultant there.
“Louise kind of put two and two together. She knows Altar has huge growth plans.
“Louise made the introduction just over two months ago and it’s been a very quick process from there.
“The two companies have similar cultures, similar standards and share interests in some sectors.”
Altar will have a workforce of 37 including the Denvir staff. Denvir will continue to trade under that name in the short-term but its rarely used office in Castlecraig Business Park will close. All staff will transfer to Altar.
Ambitious growth plans
Mr Chapman said the five-year plan is for Altar to grow its revenue from £3m to £5m and increase its workforce to around 50 members of staff.
He said the business would consider more acquisition opportunities.
He added: “This would put us in line with some of the biggest agencies in Scotland.
“We’re aiming to challenge some of the big agencies in the Central Belt.
“The attraction of acquisitions is it gives you quick growth with high quality people.”
Denvir Marketing’s clients include Forth Ports, Morris and Spottiswood and MacB.
Chris George, managing director of Denvir, said: “Joining forces with Altar is an exciting step forward for Denvir and our clients.
“Our team, combined with Altar’s expertise and resources, will help deliver even greater value and creativity.
“We’ve built our agency on a foundation of collaboration and a relentless commitment to our clients’ success, and this partnership strengthens our ability to help them achieve their business goals.”
Conversation