Finalists! HSBC Start Up Awards
A Bath advertising agency which is enjoying 100 per cent year-on-year growth is in the running for an award.
AgencyUK, based in Beehive Yard off Walcot Street, has been named one of the west-country’s top young companies in the HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards.
Launched in January 2008 by former Prior Park College pupil Sammy Mansourpour and his partner Amy Stobie, the company has since secured accounts with big name clients including the British School of Motoring (BSM), the Environment Agency, Del Monte and Bath-based publisher Future.
Should AgencyUK make it through to the national final it will be in with a chance of winning the £30,000 top prize.
Having worked in London, Mr Mansourpour opted to start the business in the South West – and has no regrets. “With the people available and the digital experience here, the Bath-Bristol area makes perfect sense. We have managed to recruit a lot of talented people,” he said. “Bath has got a great creative reputation and there is a lot of access to very skilled digital people.”
The short-listing for the HSBC Start-Up award is not the only good news for Mr Mansourpour. Last month the 33-year-old was named among the top 42 entrepreneurs aged under 42 by Insider Magazine.
He has also been elected on to the CBI’s committee for the South West.
When TheAgency started, it employed three staff. Now it has 15. The growth has occurred despite the business launching just as the global recession was about to bite.
The firm does a lot of digital work, producing films for the internet as part of companies’ marketing programmes. Following their short-listing for the award, HSBC’s head of business banking, Huw Morgan, said: “HSBC Start-Up Stars is about demonstrating by practical example that, with the right help and support, there are still great opportunities out there for people with the dedication and drive to succeed.”
AgencyUK will find out next month whether it has won the regional South West and Wales contest. If successful, the business will be entered into the national final, which takes place at the Dorchester Hotel in London on October 18.
