Member Article

Curtins up as Paver Smith ring changes

Liverpool-based public relations firm Paver Smith has completed the sale of its specialist pre-planning communications unit to Curtins Consulting, the national engineering consultancy.

The deal will see agency founders Dougal Paver and Rachel Smith take up roles with Curtins to develop its planning advisory services and cease to be shareholders in Paver Smith.

Both Mr Paver and Mrs Smith had been concentrating on growing the agency’s public consultation unit, Consultation Works, in recent months.

Agreement has been reached for an ongoing commercial relationship which will see Paver Smith supply PR services to Curtins for any property projects requiring long-term PR support. The agency is known for its expertise in the property sector.

The financial details in relation to the deal are undisclosed.

The development comes six months after the Paver Smith board instituted a strategic review of the company’s service offer following the appointment of former Trinity Mirror boss Sara Wilde-McKeown as managing director and her investment in the agency.

As part of the changes, the agency’s PR Director, Chris Hulme, is to become a shareholder and board director at Paver Smith, joining fellow shareholders Ms Wilde-McKeown, Jon Brown and chairman David Heal, who grew Harrison Cowley to be the biggest independent PR business in the UK.

Ms Wilde-McKeown said: “We are delighted to welcome Chris to the board. He is one of the industry’s leading consultants and commands a huge amount of respect from his colleagues, peers and clients. He now has a major role to play in the future of the agency.”

Curtins operates nationally from a headquarters in Liverpool with eleven offices across the country. It has seven core specialisms including the provision of expert advisory services to developers, land owners and planning consultants. Mrs Smith and Mr Paver will lead a new team within that specialism and have been appointed as directors.

Ms Wilde-McKeown said: “We have a diverse base of North West and national clients as well as a long track record in the property sector and will retain that expertise, but our focus will be on providing an integrated communications offer incorporating not just PR and social media, but design and strategic marketing advice too.

“We expect to continue on our current growth curve and the agency will be undergoing a rebrand in the New Year. We have plans to bring on board some new and senior people to help us achieve that growth.”

Curtins chief executive Rob Melling said: “This move gives us the ability to further develop the pre-planning services we currently offer to developers, owners and planning consultants. We are delighted to welcome Dougal and Rachel on board and look forward to working with Paver Smith in the future.”

Dougal Paver said: “The time was right for the business to make some strategic changes. Rachel and I are pleased with the outcome and all parties are looking forward to this next phase of respective growth and development.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .