Floated on AIM in August 2000, Media Square started life as a cash shell pursuing an end-to-end e-marketing solutions strategy.
With early acquisitions struggling, it purchased marketing services firm Equanim in June 2002 in a bid to turn around the group’s fortunes. The move saw Equanim executive directors Jeremy Middleton and Graeme Burns join the Media Square board.
By autumn, with the firm £2.5m in debt, all Media Square directors stepped down with the exception of Middleton and Burns, who set about developing a rescue strategy.
Their approach focused on the provision of marketing communications and retail marketing services, buying struggling businesses and restructuring them to make them profitable.
Within the space of seven months, this boosted revenues from £3 million to £7.6 million, contributing to a maiden full year profit of £255,692 for the year to 31 October 2003.
Buoyed by the turnaround, Media Square raised £10.6m of new equity funding by placing 59,000,000 new shares with institutional and other investors in May 2004.
A further round of equity fund raising in October 2004 added another £6.5 million, supporting the acquisition of Coutts Holdings plc, a fellow AIM-quoted retail marketing communications business. Shortly after, Media Square announced pre-tax profits of £1.5 million for the year to 31 October 2004.
In November 2005 Media Square acquired Marketing Services Group from Huntsworth plc for for a total of £63 million plus associated costs. This was funded by new equity of £30 million and an acquisition finance facility of £38.75 million from HBOS. In June 2007 Jeremy Middleton resigned. In July 2007 Roger Parry took over as Executive Chairman.