Jo Blake and Lawrence Craig of Coltas

The Coltas name is to be dropped as part of the merger between the Glasgow-based advertising agency and Curious Oranj.
The merged agencies, which will see Curios Oranj – the marketing and design agency – CuriousArchitecture, and the Coltas Group join forces, to become integrated under the CuriousGroup.
The announcement about the new group comes in the same week as Curious Oranj went into liquidation.
The new group will be based in the building currently occupied by Coltas and Bellcom – the agency’s sister call centre business - in Waterloo Street, Glasgow city centre. The deal creates a business with a combined staff of 58 and a turnover in excess of £7m per annum.
It has been claimed that no staff will be made redundant, with staff numbers likely to rise over the next quarter as the new Group prepares to announce a number of “significant” account wins.
CuriousGroup will be owned by the five people originally behind the merged businesses, with Stephen Burns of Curious Oranj becoming managing director of CuriousGroup and Coltas’ Lawrence Craig assuming the position of chairman.
Three integrated divisions have been created. Stephen Halpin (Curious Oranj) and Joe Blake (Coltas) will head 2D: the advertising and design division of the Group, while Douglas McConville (Curious Architecture) will head up 3D: the architecture and interiors team. Lawrence Craig will assume operational management of D: the digital and online division.
All the merged businesses’ clients will continue to work with the group.
Commenting on the deal, Craig said: “The merger not only creates one of the largest privately-owned integrated creative agencies in Scotland, but also brings together under one banner an industry leading group of creative professionals, while at the same time affording the opportunity to drive out over £400,000 in annual costs.”
Curious Oranj was founded by Stephen Burns and Stephen Halpin in 1997, merging with McConville Architecture in 2004, while Coltas was founded in 1992 by Lawrence Craig and Jo Blake.