Brussels, 20/04/2015 – Quanteus has reached an agreement with finance.brussels, the Regional Investment Company of Brussels (GIMB/SRIB) on the takeover of Hello Agency, a Brussels-based communications agency. Hello Agency, which specialises in retail communications, will continue to pursue its activities independently under the same name. Quanteus previously took over fellow marketing advisory and expertise centre The House of Marketing.
GIMB/SRIB decided to sell Hello Agency to a company that combines strategic vision with extensive experience of the marketing and communications sector and particularly of the increasing digitisation of that sector. Previous talks on a management buyout failed to reach a successful conclusion. The agreement with Quanteus not only ensures continuity for Hello Agency’s clients and its entire staff, but will also allow the agency to respond fully to its clients’ growing needs for the digitisation and computerisation of their communications.
To Quanteus, the acquisition of Hello Agency means a further expansion and intensification of its services in support of business transformation programmes. The acquisition also provides a unique opportunity to utilise and take full advantage of the complementarity and mix of the competences of the entities of the Quanteus group for the benefit of clients, staff and partners. Quanteus focuses mainly on providing strategic advice to the CEO and executive committees, and on the implementation of major transformation programmes, whereas The House of Marketing is geared to providing strategic marketing advice and expertise to the CMO. Thanks to the acquisition of Hello Agency, the group can now get involved in its clients’ operational activities and formulate in minute detail and help carry out a concrete marketing and communications plan.
Hello Agency has become a major player in the sector in recent years and counts several large and medium-sized retail brands among its clients. The agency will from now on be part of a fast growing and dynamic business and will – while maintaining its existing competences in retail communications – also place more emphasis on digital marketing and the implementation of omni-channel communications. Hello Agency has so far targeted mainly clients in French-speaking regions in Belgium and also has a firm foothold in France. The new acquisition will enable the company to provide its existing clients with a wider range of services, and will also allow it to concentrate more on the Dutch-speaking market.
Hello Agency has a turnover of almost 20 million euros and counts more than 100 people in its staff.
Kris Vansanten, Managing Partner at Quanteus comments: ‘The acquisition of Hello Agency endorses our position as a business partner that assists its clients with major transformations, from the formulation or redefinition of strategy up to and including the implementation of this strategy. As an innovative player in the market for business services, we have chosen not just to give advice but also to roll up our sleeves and help with the realisation of our proposals. Hello Agency will play a key part in this in the future.’
Evelyne van Wassenhove, Partner at Quanteus comments: ‘Hello Agency is a valuable addition to the activities of the Quanteus group and to those of The House of Marketing in particular. It will allow us to widen and deepen the advice and expertise we provide and to get directly involved in the operational activities of our clients in the engrossing retail communications segment. By putting strong effort into the further digitisation of the communications of Hello Agency’s clients and the implementation of their omni-channel strategy, we intend to contribute significantly to our clients’ increased competitiveness.
Caroline Vervaeke, General Manager at Hello Agency comments: ‘Hello Agency feels to me like coming home. I have spent more than 23 years of my career at various agencies – big, small, national and international. My first client was a retailer; my last client will be a retailer. I have always been passionate about the sector and will continue to be so even more. Retailers evolve rapidly and are the closest to the end-consumer. Dealing with their communications demands creativity, attention to detail and great flexibility from the teams. It is my intention to give all the staff at Hello Agency’s the support they need to further develop their knowledge and skills as regards print, in-store and also online communications. This will benefit not only them but also our clients.’
Serge Vilain, Chairman of the Executive Committee of finance.brussels (GIMB/SRIB) comments: ‘Thanks to the sale of Hello Agency to Quanteus, the business and its clients and staff are in good hands. We are convinced that the new shareholders ensure the successful growth of the business within the dynamic Quanteus group. Our task as provider of bridging finance is therefore about to end.’
Quanteus, founded in 2004, helps companies with major transformation programmes, at both the planning and the implementation stage. Quanteus consists of a team of experienced consultants that combine experience of consulting to top management with entrepreneurship and specific business experience. The team works closely with a cross-sector, multi-disciplinary network of independent professionals. Quanteus focuses mainly on medium and large-sized businesses and the subsidiaries of multinationals. In 2013, Quanteus, under the name RSQ Investors, started to take over companies in difficulties with the aim of turning them around. The network of Quanteus management consultants and interim & project managers was enlarged with an exclusive network of investors. Since the acquisition of The House of Marketing early in 2014, Quanteus has also provided its clients with strategic and operational marketing advice and expertise.
finance.brussels (GIMB/SRIB or Gewestelijke Investeringsmaatschappij voor Brussel/Société Régionale d’Investissement de Bruxelles/Regional Investment Company of Brussels) provides financial support for the expansion, transfer or reorganisation of private companies that operate in the Brussels Capital State Region promoting their anchorage in Brussels. More than a financial partner GIMB/SRIB helps and advices the companies. . finance.brussels acts as a temporary shareholder of the companies it supports financially.
Hello Agency is a Brussels-based communications agency that is acknowledged as an expert in retail communications and marketing. The agency has more than 20 years’ experience of developing an integrated approach for clients that operate in a B2B or B2C environment. Thanks to Hello Agency’s unique combination of creation, production and technology, its client base consists of strong retail brands.
The House of Marketing offers strategic marketing advice, provides operational marketing support and sets up teams to work on marketing projects. The House of Marketing is the Belgian benchmark for marketing consulting and implementation in both B2B and B2C. Large and – to an increasing extent – also medium-sized enterprises engage the services of The House of Marketing to heighten their marketing impact. Its passionate marketers come up with pragmatic marketing solutions with a particular focus on the possibilities offered by the digital revolution.
For more information on:
Quanteus: www.quanteus.eu
Finance Brussels/GIMB/SRIB: www.srib.be
Hello Agency: www.helloagency.com
The House of Marketing: www.thehouseofmarketing.be
For additional information:
Kathleen Steel
kathleen.steel@skynet.be
0475 23 04 15
Melusine Baronian, Communications Officer Finance Brussels
m.baronian@gimb.be
02 548 22 11
Attachments:
