Stocks in Focus: St Ives

Oliver Phillips of NW Brown looks at St Ives, an international marketing services group with a strong list of clients.

 

They have a particular focus on large, blue chip, consumer facing businesses including companies with international brands such as Adidas, Bosch, Johnson & Johnson, Google and GlaxoSmithKline. St Ives recently held a capital markets day, which is an opportunity for the management to provide a full review of the company’s strategy for growth, its operations and their financial targets. Such events are specifically aimed at analysts and investors.

The main focus for the day was the Strategic Marketing part of the business, which has been grown from scratch in the last five years via several acquisitions and now represents 50% of group operating profit. The division comprises 10 businesses focusing on three segments; Data, Digital and Insight. They all operate autonomously as individual brands but offer complementary services and share a common culture and attributes.

When acquiring businesses St Ives has a very clearly defined approach and they look for dynamic, agile businesses with a proven track record and no legacy baggage. Once acquired, St Ives provides investment to help accelerate growth, including help to secure a growing contribution from clients based outside the UK, and support to facilitate collaboration across the Group. The federal system that St Ives has established is a key driver of the company’s success.  It has enabled them to compile an impressive set of Strategic Marketing companies, each with an attractive combination of established track record, strong client list, differentiated service and opportunity for growth.

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