Audience Collective Leeds steady acquisition programme

Audience Collective Leeds has acquired Huddersfield-based partner marketing specialist Coterie Marketing, adding ecosystem and technology marketing capabilities to its growing portfolio. The deal takes the group to a combined headcount of 129 and current turnover of £28m. The private equity-backed group, headquartered on Cross York Street, is now targeting £40m in annual revenue within three years.

Coterie was founded in 2013 and specialises in helping technology companies collaborate more effectively through their partner ecosystems.

Rob Wescott, group CEO of Audience Collective, said:

“This is another significant step forward for Audience Collective and a strong signal of our intent. Since launching in 2020, we’ve scaled rapidly to £28m in turnover, and we’re forecasting £40m in annual revenue from our existing group companies within three years. That growth is being driven by our specialist model and our ambition to build the most progressive marketing collective in the UK.”

Building a Group, Agency by Agency

Audience Collective was formed in 2020 when private equity firm Newmore Capital brought together a portfolio of specialist agencies including Ponderosa, Spark, and Crunch. Since then, the group has grown through targeted acquisitions. The Lucre Group, a 40-strong Leeds PR and content agency, joined in 2021. Digital transformation agency Boxharry followed later that year. In 2024, education marketing specialist Adgen was added, deepening the group’s presence in the higher education sector alongside existing agency Unicom.

The acquisition expands the group’s offering to cover branding, advertising, media planning and buying, research, social and influencer marketing, UX, digital design, SEO, and now partner and ecosystem marketing.

Why this matters for Leeds

Audience Collective has grown from a standing start in 2020 to £28m in turnover and 129 staff — and it’s targeting £40m within three years. Audience Collective Leeds is part of a wider trend of marketing services groups choosing the city as their base and it’s a clear signal that the city’s agency sector is consolidating and competing nationally.