Issue 7 2021

News Third deal in a year for Ascensor Digital Agency as they acquire Blue Mantis assets. Leeds-based digital marketing agency Ascensor has announced their third M&A deal in a year with the acquisition of Blue Mantis assets. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, secures Blue Mantis’ clients , and includes the recruitment of six Blue Mantis employees. Commenting on the acquisition, Ascensor MD Andrew Firth says: “This is a strategic opportunity to accelerate the growth of Ascensor, safeguard jobs and provide clients with continuity of service.” A perfect fit “The purchase is a perfect fit for Ascensor” says Andrew. “Blue Mantis have been established for 11 years, with a leading position as a developer of bespoke web software for automotive, retail and professional services clients. This deal complements our existing digital transformation activities for businesses in these sectors, and adds a raft of like-minded talent to our team.” As part of the deal, Ascensor has recruited the three directors of Blue Mantis. Martyn Lee becomes Head of Client Services, David Eggington joins as a Senior UX designer, and Keith Hill takes up a senior role in the application development team. The recruitment count also includes Chris Nightingale (Senior Account Manager), Megan Lancaster (Service Delivery Manager) and Egle Kreivyte (Back-end Developer). Andrew Firth adds: “Our purchase brings Blue Mantis clients including JCT600 Vehicle Leasing Solutions and Colin Appleyard from the automotive sector; financial services marketing firm, The Dubs , and consulting firm BWL Consulting. The recruitment ensures that all clients will benefit from the continuity of service and support, but now with the support of a larger team and our processes.” Third acquisition in a year Andrew Firth comments: “I’m thrilled to announce our third acquisition in a year, which follows our 2020 asset and client purchase from Bradford-based web design and app development business Webposse , together with its associated web hosting firm ClaretMedia LLP . This latest acquisition demonstrates our continued appetite for growth and acquiring businesses which provide a strong strategic fit with our plans, and helps us to continue to grow our highly talented team.” Commenting on the deal, Martyn Lee says: ‘This is a very exciting time for my colleagues and I. Ascensor are well established and we’ve admired their work from afar. Becoming part of their journey and bringing our expertise and long- established clients with us creates the perfect win-win situation”. Established in 2007, Ascensor has grown rapidly in recent years, achieving turnover growth of more than 50% in 2020 and 2019. Their target for 2021 is £3.0M . The acquisition of Blue Mantis brings the total headcount at Ascensor to 36 employees . Ascensor recently moved to state-of-the-art offices in Leeds, including dedicated events space for educational seminars, to business and community partners. They recently won B est Large Digital Agency of the Year in the Northern Digital Awards and achieved ISO27001 information security accreditation .