Faulds managing director David McGlone has said that he is currently looking to appoint a high profile creative director after the departure of joint creative directors Tony Malcolm and Guy Moore and the subsequent closure of the agency’s London office.
Speaking exclusively to The Drum McGlone said: “We’ll be looking for an established creative director or a real up and coming creative director from one of the established agencies. But we will take our time to get it right. We have a great team of creatives upstairs that will do a fantastic job in the meantime.”
McGlone also said that the agency does intend to return to London at some point in the future, though that will probably take the form of strategic partnerships, which have already been formed, rather than a bricks and mortar agency.
McGlone said of the closure of the London office: “This is a good opportunity for us to get back to doing what we’ve always been good at – thinking differently and offering a rounded, integrated approach.
“We have successfully built up a family of first-rate partners in public relations, design and sponsorship, all of whom are based in London or Scotland. Through them we will be maintaining our links with London.
“This approach has helped us make good progress with clients who want to work with us as true marketing and business partners. On the back of this success, we are also actively recruiting in account management and planning and are currently looking for a creative director who shares our vision and can help us to grow and serve our UK client base.”
Following a successful MBO led by Faulds’ chairman, Dennis Chester in 2001, in a deal thought to be worth around £5m, the agency bought London-based MMDH last year in a deal rumoured to be worth £2.5m to its four directors.
The departure of the Kwik-Fit advertising account follows closely on the heels of the loss of the £10m Royal Bank of Scotland business to Saatchi and Saatchi.
Recent figures from Nielsen Media Research show that Faulds noticed a downturn in earnings of 45 per cent last year to £20.4m.
The collapse of the London office will now cast doubts over the agency’s proposed deal with Japanese advertising giant Asatsu which was keen to establish a UK presence.