BGF divests Zone to Cognizant

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, though BGF said in a statement that Zone had increased both its revenues and profitability since the GP first invested £6m in the business two and a half years ago.

Since the GP's investment, Zone has undertaken an acquisitive growth strategy, bolting on three businesses, and expanded into the German market. It has also moved its headquarters to a larger site in London's King's Cross area, and secured contracts with new clients including Adidas, Aviva, Lloyds Banking Group, Maersk and Stagecoach.

Following the transaction, Zone will become part of Cognizant's digital business practice. The transaction is expected to complete by the end of 2017.

Previous funding
BGF invested £6m in exchange for a minority stake in Zone in January 2015.

Company
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in London, Zone is a digital marketing agency offering campaign management, web design, social media management, customer relationship management and content creation. The company has additional operations in Bristol and Cologne and a total headcount of 220.

According to publicly available documents, Zone generated a turnover of £22.8m in 2016 with an operating profit of £1.4m, a year-on-year increase from £16.7m and £860,000 respectively.

People
BGF – Ben Kirby (investor).
Zone – James Freedman (co-founder, executive chairperson); Anna Kissin (co-founder, finance director); Jon Davie (CEO).

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