Fleishman-Hillard has acquired healthcare PR consultancy CPR
Worldwide to expand its offering in Europe.
The acquisition doubles F-H’s UK income, which stood at pounds 2.2
million in 1998. CPR Worldwide, the UK’s seventh-largest health PR
outfit, is projecting fee income of pounds 2.42 million, 80 per cent of
it UK-based, for this year.
The acquisition includes CPR Worldwide offices in the UK, US and France,
as a well as subsidiary Synapse PR, which is based near Oxford.
Jack Modzelewski, F-H European president and CEO, said: ’This
acquisition not only gives us a great global strategic capability, but
also a great deal of depth in Europe.’
He added that F-H is planning further acquisitions in healthcare,
technology and other specialised fields and that the European business
is expected to double in size within the next year .
F-H has specialist teams in 16 offices and global billings of pounds 18
million.
Its healthcare business has grown 30 per cent in the last two years.
CPR Worldwide will continue to be managed by company founders and
directors Scott Clark, Dr Steve Carroll and Moira Gitsham, who all now
report to Modzelewski.
F-H’s European head office moved from Paris to London when Modzelewski
was appoijnted head of the European operation in April with a brief to
improve organic growth and make acquisitions.
This month the agency boosted its UK office by recruiting former
Larkspur director Matt Fearnley. Fearnley, who left Larkspur in May to
set up internet company Parallel Interactive is now a director at F-H
UK.
His recruitment followed the resignation of Deborah Saw, who left her
role as MD of the UK office to join Burson-Marsteller last month.
Modzelewski is temporarily covering the MD role.
News analysis, p8.
