Centaur Buy Pairs Oystercatchers with Econsultancy

UK-based business information, insight and events group Centaur Media has agreed to acquire specialist marketing consultancy Oystercatchers, and will add its strengths to those of its own Internet research and training business Econsultancy. The deal is valued at up to £3.35m.

Founded in 2008 by Suki Thompson (pictured) and Peter Cowie, Oystercatchers provides a range of services to help brands accelerate their marketing performance, including partnership evaluation using a proprietary 360 assessment tool, 'Optimise'. Turnover has grown from £1.1m in the year to 31st March 2012, to £3.4m four years later, with a profit before tax of £0.6m.

Oystercatchers will now work with Econsultancy, which offers a range of insight and data tools, best practice reports, analysis and insight into the digital marketing and eCommerce sectors. Centaur says its US platform will be particularly relevant to Oystercatchers' existing and future clients.

Oystercatchers' senior management team of Thompson, Cowie, Angus Crowther, Richard Robinson and Vladimir Komanicky will remain with the business. Thompson, who will join the Centaur Executive Committee from 1st October, said of the deal: 'Oystercatchers has evolved into one of the leading specialist marketing consultancies in Europe. Joining Centaur is another stage on this journey and will help us take our expertise to many more brands globally'.

Web sites: www.theoystercatchers.com and www.econsultancy.com .