Manchester-based brand, digital and marketing agency WilsonCooke has reported a 35 per cent growth between July 2020 and March 2021 despite the challenging global conditions. The company is now gearing-up for further growth and acquisitions.
“It was especially challenging when lockdown first took place and we saw a downturn in business between April and June 2020”, says Mark Law, Managing Director of WilsonCooke. However business started to pick-up from July due to more companies requiring digital marketing support. This was coupled with the agency’s transition to outsourced finance partner, MAP, which effectively set-up its finances to better navigate the pandemic.
“We’d outsourced our finance at the start of the first lockdown and MAP immediately put sophisticated financial systems and controls in place to put us on a strong footing”, says Law. With an holistic view of the agency’s finances, and by improving cashflow and credit control, WilsonCooke had the confidence to invest in eight new people to support its growth.
Law comments, “At a time of mass uncertainty, it would have been easy to be reserved in our approach to recruitment. However we had the insights to hand to make the right decisions at the right time and we’re now benefiting from our bold strategy.”
WilsonCooke’s team almost doubled in size within just a few months. For a 30-year-old agency, this was a significant investment. It’s now enjoying 35 per cent growth with increased profits and a higher cash position. As the agency had a much slower COVID recovery forecast, this exceeded expectations.
With its sights set on continued growth, WilsonCooke is now investigating acquisition opportunities in partnership with MAP.
Law adds, “We’re in a really strong position. We’ve restructured our business into two separate divisions which is working well and our finances are going from strength to strength. We’re now looking at acquisitions to take us to the next stage in our growth.”
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