Photon pays £6.4m for Corporate Edge

Corporate Edge’s acquisition by Photon Group UK, part of Australian specialist marketing services group Photon Group, marks the first purchase of a branding consultancy by the UK arm of the Australian network.

The consultancy will receive an upfront payment of AUD15.65m (£6.4m), with an undisclosed remainder disbursed following performance markers through to 2010. Corporate Edge reported an operating profit of £272 000 for the year ending 2006, as well as an annual turnover of £8.9m. It employs 80 people.

Under the terms of the deal Corporate Edge will be able to expand its presence into Europe, while continuing its work in branding, corporate communications and interactive communications. There will be no major changes to the senior management structure.

Keith Hunt, managing partner of Results International, which orchestrated the deal, says, ‘Photon Group UK is looking to grow. While it has a fairly broad base in Australia and experience in the branding and communications sector there, it has now shown an interest over here.’

The Photon Group UK now has four companies in its portfolio including market research group DVL Smith, field marketing agency REL and The Leading Edge, an Australia-based research consultancy with offices in the UK. Photon Group is based around a set of five divisions, each focusing on a particular area of marketing and communications services.