Livingbridge, one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investors, is pleased to announce that portfolio company Brainlabs has acquired User Conversion, a conversion rate optimisation agency.
Livingbridge invested in Brainlabs in 2019 to accelerate the business’ growth and support the firm in its ambition to become the global leader in digital marketing. Since then, Brainlabs has expanded its offering and footprint through two add-on acquisitions, in the form of US digital marketing agency Hanapin Marketing and SEO specialist Distilled in 2020.
User Conversion represents Brainlabs’ third acquisition. Founded in 2015 and based in Manchester, User Conversion is a leading CRO agency, crafting bespoke conversion strategies to transform the digital performance of its clients. The firm has seen rapid growth since its inception and now boasts a portfolio of blue-chip online retail clients, including Boots and BrewDog.
By incorporating User Conversion’s unparalleled CRO expertise into its offering, the deal will enable Brainlabs to cross-sell to its existing customer-base, engender interest from new clients, and expand its footprint.
Founded in 2012, Brainlabs is a data-led marketing agency, helping businesses build experimentation-led marketing through paid search, display, paid social, SEO, CRO and analytics. Headquartered in London, the firm has grown both organically and through strategic acquisition to 400 people, spanning Singapore, UK and the US.
Brainlabs has attracted widespread industry recognition for its innovative and tech-led approach, including placing first in Deloitte’s Tech Track Fast 50, fourth in the Financial Times fastest-growing companies, and winning two Masters of Marketing Agency of the Year awards.
Brainlab’s offices now span Austin, Bloomington, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, New York and Seattle.
Daniel Gilbert, CEO of Brainlabs, said: “Despite a challenging year, Brainlabs weathered the COVID-19 storm exceptionally well, and has come out on the other side stronger than ever before. We are now looking to the future and are excited about our partnership with User Conversion.
“User Conversion has the unique combination of being an independent business catering to household names, and its CRO capabilities will be invaluable in enabling us to execute on our growth objectives. We look forward to working closely with the management team to bring it into the fold.”
Dave Kirby, Livingbridge, commented: “I am thrilled to see Brainlabs invest in such a dynamic company with a proven track-record in providing best-in-class services to its clients. Since our investment in 2019, we have successfully deployed a robust value creation strategy for Brainlabs through strategic M&A, and it’s a pleasure to watch it unfold with yet another successful acquisition. We look forward to supporting further developments in Brainlab’s growth journey, both in the UK and internationally.
David Mannheim, Founder of User Conversion, added: “I am delighted to be joining forces with Brainlabs. Their market-leading products, world-class expertise, and history of successful third-party integration make them the ideal partner to take us through the next stage of our growth.”
