Sale off the agenda at Ebiquity

The media and marketing insights company is instead restructuring into three distinct business segments: media value measurement, market intelligence and marketing performance optimisation.

In a statement accompanying its half-year results, Ebiquity said that none of the proposals on the table “adequately reflected the board’s view of the company’s value”.

“The board is therefore no longer considering the sale of the business and as a result this brings the review of strategic options to a close.”

“I have no doubt that the strategic review will prove to have been an important moment in the history of the group,” said CEO Michael Greenlees (pictured). “We emerge both clear-sighted and confident in our future potential as a business, determined to grasp the opportunities that lie ahead and with a clear road map of how to achieve our goals.”

That road map includes the restructuring of the business. While media value measurement and market intelligence represent the majority of Ebiquity’s revenue, marketing performance optimisation is a small but growing segment for the company.

“As part of our strategic review we have combined our various performance analytics businesses into one segment, which includes our effectiveness teams and our newly acquired US-based analytics business, Stratigent,” explained Greenlees. “We judge this to be just the beginning of a significant growth opportunity.”

In the six months to 31 October, Ebiquity’s revenue increased 7% to £32.7m, with organic growth at 4%. Media value measurement revenue grew 11% to £16.5m, while market intelligence declined 5% to £13.9m. Marketing performance optimisation, meanwhile, increased revenues by 141% to £2.3m – though this was helped by the addition of Stratigent.

Underlying operating profit was up across board. At a group level, it increased 26% to £4.1m.