Following on from the hugely successful and enjoyable dinner to launch Prolific North’s Top 50 PR agencies in the North of England, we are delighted to officially announce the rankings for 2019.
Thank you to everyone who has supplied us with information this year. This year we had well over 100 agencies submit data to us and we notice engagement improve with this initiative year-on-year. Everyone loves a list!
Like with previous years, all data has been checked and verified using our online sources. The rankings are primarily predicated by financials, notably balance sheet value, turnover, profit and growth. We also take into account factors such as headcount.
So, who are the winners and big movers in the PR agency rankings for 2019?
Once again, it’s congratulations to everyone at Citypress for taking top spot for a fifth year running. The Manchester-based agencies have performed well again, with 7 out of the top 10 agencies being based in the Greater Manchester Area.
Some other noticeable movers and honourable mentions in this year’s list:
- iseepr were the biggest movers, gaining an impressive 25 places in 2019, closely followed by Ramarketing & PR who moved up 17 positions from last year.
- RMS climbed a healthy 13 places from 38th to 25th position this year. With Skout, Sky Parlour, Definition and Lucre all moving upwards.
- 2019 also say a number of new entries and re-entries to the list, including No Brainer (35th) HR Medial Ltd (46th), Down at the Social (47th) Scriba PR (48th) and Refresh PR (49th).
The full Top 50 PR agency ranking for 2019 is as follows:
| nk | Company | Location | Ownership | Staff | Clients |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (1) | Citypress | Manchester | Private | 82 | Aldi, British Gas, Coca-Cola, Lloyds Banking Group, Unilever |
| 2 (2) | Weber Shandwick | Manchester | Interpublic Group of Companies | 41 | Iceland, Hitachi Capital UK, Nespresso, University of Salford, Starkey Hearing Technologies |
| 3 (5) | Barrett Dixon Bell | Altrincham | Private | 38 | DSM, IMCD, Lonza, Sensient |
| 4 (3) | Tangerine | Manchester | Private | 57 | Pizza Hut, Specsavers, Johnstone’s Paint, Ideal Standard, Jewson |
| 5 (4) | Finn Communications | Leeds | Private | 36 | Essity UK LTD, Froneri, GHD Limited, IPN, Taylors of Harrogate Ltd |
| 6 (9) | Carousel PR | Manchester | Private | 30 | MGA Entertainment, Selfridges, Moda, Savills, Broadwick Live |
| 7 (6) | Brazen PR | Manchester | Private | 27 | Wilko, Magnet Kitchens, Dr Oetker, Showcase Cinemas |
| 8 (8) | Influential PR | Liverpool | Private | 28 | Everton Football Club, Bruntwood , Morgan Sindall, U + I, Camelot – National Lottery |
| 9 (13) | Democracy | Manchester | Private | 33 | Dulux (retail, trade, decorator centre), Halewood wines and spirits, Cartridge Save, Zip World , Heycar |
| 10 (7) | Havas PR UK | Manchester | Havas Group/Vivendi | 25 | Greggs, Kellogg’s, Studio.co.uk, Transpennine Express, Instantprint |
| 11 (28) | Ramarketing & PR | Newcastle upon Tyne | Private | 23 | Recipharm Ltd, Xellia Pharmaceuticals, Tracelink (Europe) Ltd, Ashfield Healthcare |
| 12 (10) | Hatch Communications | Leeds | Private | 19 | Boost Drinks, Checkatrade, Spectrum Brand, One Medical Group, Hisense |
| 13 (21) | Lucre | Leeds | Private | 22 | Jet2.com, Stonegate, Holiday Extras, Pizza Express, Meadowhall |
| 14 (39) | iseepr | Leeds | Private | 18 | EMVCo, GlobalPlatform, SIMalliance, Trustonic, Fingerprints |
| 15 (17) | Prohibition PR | Leeds | Private | 15 | Watches of Switzerland Group, ENGIE, Interflora, University of Northumbria |
| 16 (34) | Corporate Culture Ltd | Liverpool | Private | 20 | Southern Water, The Riverside Group, Scottish Hydro Electric, NHS England |
| 17 (14) | PR Agency One | Manchester | Private | 19 | Decathlon UK Limited, Gift Voucher Shop Ltd, BuyItDirect Group, Patatam Ltd, Rada |
| 18 (18) | Intelligent Conversation | Manchester | Private | 15 | United Utilities plc, Synectics plc, EMIS Group plc, Brother International Europe, GM Moving |
| 19 (11) | Social Communications | Sale | Private | 28 | The National Lottery Good Causes, Manchester Growth Hub, Leeds City Council, Triplepoint REIT, Mace Construction |
| 20 (16) | Scott Partnership | Holmes Chapel | Private | 13 | |
| 21 (19) | Roland Dransfield PR | Manchester | Private | 14 | ask, ST.MODWEN, PH Homes, Genr8, Schroders |
| 22 (31) | Sky Parlour | Manchester | Private | 17 | Fleetcor, Ingenico, Emerging Payments Association, Chargebacks 911 and Fintech Power 50 |
| 23 (26) | Smoking Gun | Manchester | Private | 15 | Silentnight Group, Merck Science Division, Arriva Bus UK, Childs farm |
| 24 (22) | Peppermint Soda | Manchester | Private | 22 | Bolton Council, Home Bargains. Hitachi, Muse |
| 25 (38) | RMS PR, Design & Marketing | Altrincham | Acceleris acquired Limelight PR in January 2018 | 19 | Warburtons, Swizzels, Arvia, Manchester Drinks, Duerr’s |
| 26 (15) | DTW | Guisborough | Private | 15 | The Law Society, Emovis Operations Mersey Ltd, Sunderland City Council |
| 27 (36) | Definition (Previously Acceleris) | Harrogate | Private | 20 | Utilita, Benenden Health, FibreNation, Nautilus International, J F Hillebrand |
| 28 (25) | Active Profile | Manchester | Private | 15 | Business Growth Hub, Muse Developments, Avison Young, Sensor City, UK Energy Innovation Centre |
| 29 (27) | Fig Creative | Glossop | Private | 17 | Northwood Hygiene Products; Datagraphic; Edge Hill University; MVIS Ltd; Risco |
| 30 (33) | Truth PR | Manchester | Private | 11 | Wates Group, Countryside, Acelity, Clive Christian Furniture Co, FI Real Estate Management |
| 31 (32) | Context Public Relations | Macclesfield | Private | 10 | Algosec, Yubico, Wellbeing Software, Check Point Software Technologies, Somfy |
| 32 (24) | Umpf | Leeds | Private | 11 | ENGIE, Glen Dimplex Home Appliances, Harrison Spinks, Landsec, NHS |
| 33 (20) | MCG PR | Leeds | Private | 14 | Pink Lady and Tenderstem, Costcutter Supermarkets Group, Nexus, University of Leeds |
| 34 (23) | SKV PR | Manchester | Private | 12 | BUPA, BDP, Siemens Digital Industries, Crown Commercial Services, FEC |
| 35 | No Brainer | Cheshire | Private | 11 | Cash Converters, HomeServe, In Touch, Optionis, Sale Sharks |
| 36 (43) | Brand8 PR | Leeds | Private | 9 | Avant Homes, Chancerygate, Paragon, Sewtec, World Wheel Company |
| 37 (35) | Harris Associates | Leeds | Private | 15 | Senior Architectural Systems Ltd, CD (UK) Ltd, Crown, Arbor Forest Products, Washroom Washroom |
| 38 (48) | Skout PR | Macclesfield | Private | 10 | Miele, Wax Digital, GazProm Energy, 100%, SANA |
| 39 (40) | MANC FRANK | Manchester | Group – Enero Group | 8 | Vype, Vorwerk, Kiwi.com, Staysure, Tomatin |
| 40 (42) | The Partners Group | York | Private | 8 | Apollo Fire Detectors, Saint-Gobain Glass, The Technology Group, JM Glendinning Insurance Brokers, Switalskis Solicitors |
| 41 (30) | Mason Williams Ltd | Manchester | Private | 14 | Accor Hotels, Radisson Blu, LHM group |
| 42 (41) | Kenyons | Liverpool | Private | 13 | Aintree, IBF, LIPA, MerseyTravel |
| 43 (37) | Aberfield Communications | Leeds | Private | 10 | BBC, First Direct, Deloitte, NG Bailey, The Jockey Club |
| 44 (44) | Fourth Day PR | Manchester | Fourth Day Group | 9 | Autocab, National Nuclear Laboratory, Mobica, APS Group, Probrand |
| 45 (45) | Allott & Associates Ltd | Knaresborough | Private | 10 | OxAir, GEA, Force24, EU, Onward Holdings |
| 46 (56) | HRM | Sheffield | Private | 12 | NHS, BHP, Keebles, Frenchgate |
| 47 | Down at the Social | Manchester | Private | 7 | tofs, Vapiana, USE |
| 48 | Scriba PR | Huddersfield | Private | 9 | DealTrak, UNTHA, ESPHR, Vapour Cloud, Force24 |
| 49 | Refresh PR | Manchester | Private | 10 | BBF Limited, Digitonic, Eurocell PLC, Metro Rod, Manchester Digital |
| 50 (46) | MTJ Associates Ltd | Leyland | Private | 7 |
