Golley Slater has announced that it is planning to overhaul its PR network having acquired London-based agency Margaret Street and appointed founder Joyce Lorigan as PR CEO.

Lorigan, who has also acted as head-of-communications for Disney, founded the agency last year and picked up accounts with Cafedirect and Absolute Radio.

It has been acquired by Golley Slater as the company looks to change its business model in London, centred around PR.

As a result the team at Margaret Street will move to the London office of Golley Slater increasing its numbers to 25 but both agencies will retain their brand names.

In addition to this, Lorigan has become CE0 of PR at Golley Slater and will oversee the company’s PR offering across eight regional divisions. This will see three new senior hires made in Scotland, the Midlands and the North East to further strengthen its regional team. In addition, a new director will also be appointed to strengthen its senior team in London and help support the national expansion and digital offering.

Christina Kelly has already joined Golley Slater Edinburgh as head of PR, while a successor to Sarah Hall who recently left the northern office is also set to be named.

Nathan Lane, managing director of Golley Slater PR in Birmingham has also recently left to join Leeds PR consultancy Ptarmigan Bell Pottinger as its managing director.

Chris Lovell, CEO of Golley Slater, explained: “In a digital age, successful communications is about multi-stakeholder engagement, the ability to react quickly and to work hard through many channels to influence perceptions - and this is exactly what PR has always done.  This is why we're dialling up our PR offering and putting it right at the heart of our planning. The future of marketing communications is about successful collaboration by like-minded individuals, which is why Joyces integrated track record made her an obvious candidate to help us in this new phase of Golley Slaters growth.”

Lorigan continued: “Golley Slater seemed an obvious choice for Margaret Street - and not just because of its location! Its great to have found in Golley Slater a company that really values the role that PR has to play in strategic communications.

“I am really excited that Margaret Street clients will be able to tap into Golley Slater's regional PR network. Im also looking forward to working with the Golley Slater digital team to build out a more rounded cross-discipline offering which fully encompasses PR. What's relevant today online can be irrelevant tomorrow so the ability to react quickly is key.”