ABERDEEN communications agency Citrus:Mix has purchased the emergency response (ER) division of fellow city agency Mearns & Gill for an undisclosed sum.
The deal comes as Citrus:Mix’s parent company Jasmine Holdings reported a £1.2 million decrease in revenue to £5.3m, leading to pre-tax losses of £75,000 against a profit of £446,000 in 2014.
The loss at Jasmine, which owns seven businesses in the Aberdeen area, was attributed to a £100,000 investment in refurbishing new premises, along with the fallout from the drop in oil prices, which led its clients to cut costs.
Danny Cowie, managing director of Jasmine Holdings, said: “In keeping with most businesses in the north-east of Scotland, we face challenging conditions but also see great opportunities. We are continuing to invest across the group and we are confident about the long-term outlook. Jasmine has a strong portfolio of respected and established companies, with a commitment to growth throughout our businesses.”
In the last year, Citrus:Mix became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. Jasmine also helped form and take a 51 per cent stake in events business 46 Degrees, and acquired a 50 per cent stake in recruitment firm Granite Energy.
The deal with Mearns & Gill includes adds communications director Doug Allsop and communications manager Richard Thomson to the Citrus:Mix staff. It also adds five North Sea oil and gas operators to the firm’s existing base of energy sector clients.
Commenting that the move comes with Citrus:Mix at an important stage in its evolution, managing director Paul Smith said: “With the team providing ER services to operators with a range of North Sea assets, this represents a significant deal for us and supports the development of our own longstanding work in that sphere. Through a specialist team we offer services from advice and guidance through to full scale incident response, tailored to each unique set of circumstances.”
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