Digital marketing agency Brainlabs, which has its UK offices in Manchester and London as well as international hubs across Asia, Europe, and North and South America, has secured a ‘major investment’ from Charlotte, NC-based private equity firm, Falfurrias Capital Partners (FCP).
Falfurrias Capital Partners was founded in 2006 by former Bank of America chair and chief executive Hugh McColl Jr. The amount and precise details of the investment were not disclosed.
The agency said the investment would be used to support its global expansion plans.
Brainlabs was founded in 2012 by former Google executive Daniel Gilbert, with ambitions of becoming the largest independent media agency in the industry. Stephen Allan, the former global CEO of GroupM’s MediaCom is executive chair of Brainlabs.
Brainlabs sold a minority stake in the agency to London-based private equity firm Livingbridge in 2019. The agency says it has grown eightfold in revenue since then, with client billings in excess of $1bn. The Financial Times estimated its valuation following the latest investment today at around $320m.
The growth has been driven in part by the acquisition of eight agencies including US programmatic agency MediaNet, digital agency Hanapin Marketing and Manchester’s User Conversion in February 2021.
Gilbert said the group had decided that capital from private equity would be the best way to finance the business, in preference to a public listing or selling out to a larger agency, as it sought to expand rapidly. Brainlabs plans to acquire more companies and technologies to help it expand. The company currently employs more than 850 people.
Brainlabs produces and buys advertising for clients such as Estée Lauder, Adidas and WeTransfer.
