Work begins on £1m media site
WORK is getting underway on a new £1m media centre at a rapidly expanding marketing and branding agency.
Champions (UK) PLC hopes to take on up to 40 new staff after the new building opens at its headquarters in Costock, near Loughborough.
It will be a base for the company’s growing digital marketing division which offers services such as web design, pay-per-click and SEO.
Champions has been growing quickly in recent years, adding to its brand, celebrity management and events business in areas such as digital marketing, video and social media management.
Group sales director David Simms said the business recently won the contract to work on worldwide communications for Miami-based speedboat racing promoter Powerboat P1.
It is also doing PR for Tottenham Hotspur and talking to other Premier league clubs, he said.
And it is in the process of appointing former Warwickshire and England cricketer Tim Munton, who lives in Melton, as its new director of sports - to help the business continue to grow its involvement in, among others, golfing events and tournaments.
Champions owns the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship and, Mr Simms said, it is expanding that concept to six locations around the world including Dubai, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Celebrities on its books include Andy Abraham and Sam Bailey.
In the year to March 31, Champions saw turnover grow to £30.1m, from £17.4m a year earlier.
Pre-tax profits rose to almost £2.3 million, compared to less than £1.2m in 2017.
The family-owned business was launched by John and Donna Hayes in 2003. Their son Matt is the managing director.
Mr Simms, a former managing director of the Leicester Mercury, was the first non-family member to be appointed to the Champions board.
He said the new media centre was the next step on the firm’s mediumterm plan to get to a turnover of £50m.
He said: “We’ve knocked down a barn to make way for the new building and work will start soon.
“We hope it will be completed in December or early January and on the back of that we will eventually be recruiting 40 more people.
“We are also doing more to link the digital work we do to the PR work - for clients such as the RAF and global lawyers Hogan Lovells.
“We have just employed two videographers, for instance, because clients now want their story supported by video - and boy are they busy.”
Mr Simms said when he joined the company a year ago there were two people in its sales team. That has grown to 20, out of a total workforce of around 100.
Other new work the business has picked up includes supplying musical talent and entertainment to Princess Cruises in Australia, and providing performers to festivals up and down the country.
Mr Simms said: “What we do is all about results.
“The key thing is that this is a family business, with no shareholders to answer to so the board wants to ensure everything they touch exceeds what the client expects.
“If you can do that, you can build a long-term relationship and the client will stay with you.
“If you take a client in its infancy and you exceed their expectations in something like web-building they will start using you for other services.
“That’s why we’ve just taken on three account managers to ensure we deliver everything our clients expect.
“The customer is king and nothing is too much trouble.”
Firm hopes to take on 40 new staff