Member Article

New future for Manchester communications agency Judge & Howard

Manchester-based PR & social media agency Judge & Howard has announced that Libby Howard has taken sole ownership of the five-year-old business, having bought out co-founder Suzanne Judge’s 50 per cent shareholding.

Suzanne, who has been on extended maternity leave with her first child, has taken the decision to retire from agency life and spend more time with her young family.

“Things will be different without Suzanne’s input but I respect and fully understand her decision and all the team wish her well,” said Libby.

“On the one hand it’s a big change but on the other it’s business as usual. During the past 16 months, the business has continued to move forward and I am grateful for the tremendous support of Directors Diana MacCarthy and Claire Evans and the rest of the team.

“In fact, 2013/14 has been a record year for us. We have broken the £1million turnover barrier for the first time on the back of significant client gains and expansion of existing clients. We have also recruited to take advantage of the business world’s growing need for intelligent social media and content marketing.”

2013/14 was also the year that put Judge & Howard on the map internationally – with increased global work and the company winning a Silver Award for Communications Effectiveness at the global AMEC awards in June.

Suzanne said: “I am very proud of the quality of our work and the thriving business we have created. I am supremely confident that Libby and the team will continue to drive the business forward and achieve even greater success.”

Judge & Howard was founded in 2009 and was the CIPR’s national Outstanding Small Consultancy (under 10 people) in 2012. It has grown in both turnover and profitability year on year. Clients include Brother Europe, EMIS Group plc, Synectics plc, United Utilities and Pharmacy2U.

Looking to the future, Libby says the business will continue trading under its current name for the time being, with a re-brand to reflect the changing PR world planned for early 2015.

“We have spent considerable time assessing what our business will look like in five years time – based on the needs of clients,” said Libby. “We are honing plans to refine our offer for the fast-changing digital communications age.”

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