E3 Media expansion leads to London office

Bristol digital media consultancy E3 Media this week opens a London office and is embarking on an expansion drive, which will see it take on more staff.

The group is also in the closing stages of the acquisition of a Web design consultancy, according to managing director Mike Bennett, who indicates that E3 Media will remain acquisitive over the coming months.

Bennett is currently negotiating with five directors from rival digital groups to secure a director for the new London office. ‘A number of job offers are out and after the acquisition there will be 17 people in the London office,’ he says.

Around 90 per cent of E3’s clients are based in London. The Oxford Street location will allow easy access to these clients, as well as a stronger presence on the tender circuit, according to Bennett. The 38-strong Bristol office will be retained to provide a lower-cost base for the consultancy, though Bristol staff will work from the capital on pitches or for London clients that require a presence in the city.

Against a background of what Bennett describes as ‘buoyant business’, E3 is broadening its offer to become a full-service on-line agency, taking in design, marketing, advertising and technical build disciplines. It is also considering expanding into design-for-print.

‘We have always been the regional consultancy on pitch lists and we always intended to be a London [type] group in Bristol. We have been adding a raft of new services to our portfolio and want to capitalise on this by establishing an office in London,’ says Bennett.

The consultancy’s redesign of the Toni & Guy website, at www.toniandguy.co.uk (pictured above), launches later this month.