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Business advisory firm Quantuma and its managing director, Ian Barton, have advised on the sale of digital marketing agency Climb Online, which was founded by ‘The Apprentice’ winner Mark Wright, to xDNA Group.
It is reported that Barton, the corporate finance executive at KBS Corporate, Anne Pritchard, and the team at Quantuma led the sale process for the shareholders and through their approach.
During the sale process, it is said that the business attracted a “significant” level of interest from a combination of international and UK trade buyers, with the successful offer coming from xDNA Group, an award-winning digital agency with offices in Asia and the UK.
The group is said to currently be following an “aggressive” growth strategy, having previously acquired Big Reach Marketing and Fluid Studios, as well as opening an office in Dubai.
Founded in 2015, Climb Online has established itself as a trusted and reliable provider of quality digital marketing services to clients across several sectors. Over the years, Climb Online has reportedly developed an enviable blue-chip client base including TikTok, CV Library and Groupon.
Wright said: “I couldn’t have sold my business without Ian and his team’s expertise. When Lord Sugar and I first started being approached by trade and financial buyers and decided to sell our business, we knew, in order to have the most structured process and achieve the highest price, we needed to work with people like Ian.
“We were initially impressed with the marketing materials they put together. The teaser document and IM were professionally written and beautifully designed and they took the time to understand our business to present it in the best possible light.”
Barton said: “The whole of the team at Quantuma are delighted to have advised Mark and Lord Sugar on the sale of Climb Online, the first successful exit of a business founded by the winner of BBC’s ‘The Apprentice’. Having watched Mark start his journey so publicly on the show and to have been trusted to advise the shareholders on the completion of their entrepreneurial journey together was a huge privilege.
“The business attracted huge interest from a number of international parties and we were pleased to have completed the deal in a smooth and targeted process with xDNA Interactive. We wish Mark well in his next entrepreneurial venture and the whole Climb Online team in the newly enlarged global group, and we will be watching the 2023 series to see who Lord Sugar hires as the next winner.”
