Two leading Leeds-headquartered agencies, Intermarketing Agency (IMA) and HOME, have merged to create IMA HOME.
Advantage Smollan, which acquired IMA in 2017, is adding HOME – plus group companies Fusion Learning and CHILLI – to its portfolio, merging the two organisations to create an agency with a turnover of £70 million.
The new agency will be one of the country’s largest and employ 400, with plans to recruit a further 200 in the next three years.
It will operate offices in Leeds, Manchester, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, New York, Munich, Cape Town and Gibraltar.
Posting on social media this morning (August 17th), the agencies said: “We are like-minded people and have businesses with complementary stories, shared goals and a wonderful cultural fit… we believe the future at IMA HOME will be brighter and more exciting than ever.”
Steve Sowden (pictured, left), COO at IMA, said: “We’ve admired HOME for a long time. It’s an awesome agency with great people and a fantastic culture.
“This merger is all about growth and opportunity for our people and our clients. Like HOME, IMA is already in a very healthy and profitable position and despite COVID, it’s fair to say that we’re both flying.
“The last 18 months have been tough and we are more committed than ever to creating amazing futures and opportunities for all colleagues at IMA and HOME.”
Dave Sewards (pictured, right), Group Chairman at HOME, added: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for everybody involved. When Steve and I first started talking it was immediately clear we shared incredibly similar values. This really feels like a very natural collaboration.
“We’re committed to maintaining HOME’s culture and start-up mentality, something that was very important to us when we opened the doors 20 years ago and remains visible in both our culture and service to clients today.”
IMA HOME’s client portfolio will include brands like Jet2, Royal Canin, Dr Oetker, adidas, Reebok, AG Barr and More Than.
