NEWS: John French leads marketing group in stock-market move

John French, the former Osprey chairman, is heading a new marketing

services group which is planning an imminent flotation to fuel its

expansion.

Acute Group comprises the London Advertising Partnership, established

two years ago, Wallace Barnaby, a Channel Islands-based through-the-line

specialist and the Adkins Wheeler Partnership in Birmingham, which

bought itself out of Osprey in 1994.

The group expects to raise up to pounds 1.5 million from the flotation,

giving it a value of between pounds 3 and pounds 4 million.

The group wants to use the flotation as a springboard for further

expansion, possibly into Scotland, and for tactical acquisitions in

London and the Midlands.

But French said: ‘We are not trying to set up a network of regional

agencies. However, we see an opportunity for a cross-fertilisation of

clients.’

The group brings together a diverse range of clients, from Fred Olsen

Cruise Lines and Polygram, to Abbey National and Barclays.

This article was first published on Campaign