Ex-TRBI chief joins new owners at Oxford Research Agency

UK-- Two directors of The Oxford Research Agency (TORA) have bought out the firm's owners with venture capital backing, with a view to boosting the profile of the business.

Chris Sinclair and Andrew Tharme are now joint managing directors of the company, and have hired former TRBI chief Laurence Curtis as chairman.

Curtis has described TORA as a “hidden gem”. He was most recently a consultant on the UK management board of Maritz Research but became involved with TORA when he was brought in to conduct due diligence work on behalf of one of Sinclair and Tharme's backers, Next Wave Ventures. The other backer is Clydesdale Bank.

“I'm delighted to be involved at the start of the next phase of growth of the agency,” said Curtis. “It has some of the best clients in the business and is led by a young and innovative management team with a proven track record.”

He has made a “modest investment” in the agency, and will provide advice and guidance in key business areas such as strategy, operations and logistics, while also helping Sinclair and Tharme on new business development.

In an interview with Research, Sinclair said the company was aiming to grow by at least 50% over the next three to five years. It currently works with clients in the FMCG, retail, transport, education and local government sectors, and conducted over £6m-worth of research last year.

Sinclair and Tharme – respectively TORA's former head of FMCG research and business development director – bought out previous owners Kim Paxton, Karen Nunwick and Dave Kemp, though the trio remain with the company and have left a stakeholding in the business, which employs 50 staff.

Author: Brian Tarran