Challenger Groups Tracker – by Waypoint
There is a cohort of ambitious, fast-growing agencies increasingly making waves in the marketing services world, collectively described as “challenger” groups. It’s a rapidly developing space and it can be hard to keep up with the pace of change including M&A activity, investment, and financial results.
Waypoint has analysed this section of the agency world to provide the key headline stats at a glance. The challenger groups in the table below appear in order of size and with other key data to provide context. Waypoint has selected them as interesting businesses to watch based on a range of factors, including, but not limited to, the size and quality of investment received and the pace of acquisition to date or potential to acquire in the future. We will be updating this data regularly, so do check in to see how the picture changes throughout the year.
If you’d like to learn more, listen to a deep-dive edition of our Waypointers podcast telling you everything you need to know about the Challenger agencies, as well as in depth interviews with Michael Birkin, CEO of kyu, Luke Smith, CEO of Croud and Rocio Lama, Head of Strategy and Corporate Development at SAMY Alliance.
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Headcount | Year Founded | HQ (Country) | CEO / Exec Chair | Ownership | Investment Milestones | Notable Acquisitions (2021 to date) |
| Known | <500 | 2020* | New York, US | Kern Schireson | PE-backed: ICG | *Formerly Schireson Associates, acquired Stun Creative & Blackbird in 2020 with funding from ICG to form Known | 0 |
| Brainlabs | 500 – 1k | 2012 | London, UK | Daniel Gilbert | PE-backed: Falfurrias Capital Partners | Sep 23: Major investment from Falfurrias Capital Partners Mar 19: Livingbridge acquired a minority stake | 7 |
| Croud | 500-1k | 2011 | London, UK | Luke Smith | PE-backed: LDC | Nov 19: Secured £30m minority investment from LDC | 5 |
| Sideshow | 500 – 1k | 2010 | London, UK | Stephen Pavlovich | PE-backed: Waterland | Mar 21: Waterland Private Equity acquired a stake | 7 |
| MERGE | 500-1k | 2004 | Chicago, US | Patrick Venetucci | PE-backed: Keystone Capital | Dec 18: Keystone Capital announced partnership with MERGE | 4 |
| Power Digital | 500-1k | 2012 | San Diego, US | Jeff Mason | PE-backed: Court Square | Mar 22: Received investment from Court Square Capital Partners Jan 21: Avante Capital Partners completed a unitranche debt investment in Power Digital Apr 19: Received investment from Periscope Equity | 3 |
| SAMY Alliance | 500-1k | 2013 | Madrid, Spain | Juan Andres | PE backed: Bridgepoint | Mar 2024: Acquired Kurio, social-first creative agency Aug 2023: Bridgepoint acquired 12.75% stake in SAMY | 4 |
| iO Group | 1k- 5k | 2005 | Herentals, Belgium | Pieter Janssens | PE-backed: Waterland | Dec 18: Received investment from Waterland Private Equity | 16 |
| Dept | 1k-5k | 2016 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Dimi Albers | PE-backed: Carlyle | Dec 19: Carlyle Group acquired a majority stake in Dept from Waterland Private Equity | 12 |
| Bounteous | 1k-5k | 2003 | Denver, US | Keith Schwartz | PE-backed: New Mountain Capital | Aug 21: New Mountain Capital acquires a stake in Bounteous from Mountaingate Capital | 2 |
| PMG Worldwide | 1k-5k | 2010 | Fort Worth, US | George Popstefanov | Private | n.a. | 2 |
| Kyu | 1k-5k | 2014 | New York, US | Michael Birkin | Hakuhodo | n.a. kyu is the strategic operating unit of Hakuhodo DY Holdings created in 2014 to invest in all forms of creativity, innovation, and international growth | 5 |
| Brandtech Group | 5k-10k | 2015 | New York, US | David Jones | Series B Funding: Various | Jun 23: Acquires Jellyfish, with Jellyfish investor Fimalac rolling into the new structure Sep 21: Reportedly entered talks with banks about $3bn US float Jan 21: Raised $260m in Series B which valued the company at $1.36bn | 4 |
| S4 Capital | 5k-10k | 2018 | London, UK | Sir Martin Sorrell | Public | Feb 22: Considers New York Stock Exchange listing Jan 22: Launched S4S Ventures, a venture capital fund with Stanhope Capital Group Dec 16: Lists on the LSE | 15 |
| Stagwell | 11k | 2015 | New York, US | Mark Penn | Public | May 23: $150m share repurchase scheme from Carlyle’s AlpInvest Partners. Upon completion, AlpInvest Partners will no longer be an investor in Stagwell. Apr 23: Acquisition of Huskies Aug 21: The merger of MDC and Stagwell formerly completed | 28 |
Notes
– Sources include S&P Capital IQ, PitchBook, LinkedIn and company websites
– This is a snapshot of the cohort, not an exhaustive list
– Last updated 17 July 2024
