TBB acquires leading comms agency Scriba PR

The crew has news! We're delighted to announce we’re expanding our services and boosting our marketing offering, having welcomed Scriba PR to our growing group of agencies.

The Bigger Boat has acquired Scriba, a leading PR and communications agency, to accelerate marketing communications output and enable our clients to send their story and messaging even further. And while both businesses will continue to work and support clients independently, specialising in the services that made us successful, we’ll be working even more closely to supercharge our collective service offering to clients.  

Three men and a boat

The Bigger Boat, founded in 2010 by directors Andy McCaul, Doug Main and Lee Boothroyd, is a driven and growing agency — now with a talented 26-strong crew specialising in integrated marketing services, including web development and design, branding, digital marketing, SEO and content marketing. But our humble beginnings saw us as a three-man band working overly long hours out of a Brighouse office that was barely bigger than a cupboard. Fast forward 13 years and we’re still an ambitious bunch, growing and keen to propel our service offering while scaling up resources. 

We’ve long championed the talents and expertise of our friends at Scriba so when the opportunity arose to acquire the business, we jumped at it. The addition of the agency — which counts 15 people within the team — promises further growth, not only for our two businesses, but for our expanding rosters of clients as well. 

Becoming your all-encompassing marketing toolkit

In the last few years, we’ve heavily invested in The Bigger Boat — growing the crew, introducing new services such as content and social, going headless, and partnering with Storyblok — to become an integrated agency. Now truly integrated, the acquisition of Scriba means we can satisfy even more client needs, with seriously bolstered creative content and digital PR. 

Founded in 2013 and this year celebrating its 10th birthday, Scriba is a B2B strategic communications agency that counts brands Connect Childcare, UNTHA, Agilité, and BeFibre among its client list. Much like us, the agency has experienced impressive growth in the last three years and currently features in Prolific North’s Top 50 PR Agencies. Last year, it secured position 17 in the round-up of fastest growing PR agencies in the North, too. 

Despite the successes of both businesses, we remain similarly valued and like-minded in culture and work ethic. This won’t change. We have a shared passion to tell our clients’ stories and help them make meaningful connections with their customers. This unified approach means our campaigns can now span the full marketing spectrum, meeting your customers wherever they consume their content. 

Managing director Andy McCaul explains: “We’ve been impressed with Scriba’s work for many years. We move in the same marketing circles and often collaborate on client projects. Our ambitions are aligned and we share similar values — acquiring Scriba feels a very logical move as both businesses experience continued growth and we seek to expand our marketing services to become a truly integrated agency. 

“Bringing Scriba onboard, and tapping into its exceptional PR and strategic marketing prowess, brings great opportunity for both businesses. This is an exciting time.”

What this means for our clients 

Why have we bought Scriba?

The Bigger Boat has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2010, operating from a Brighouse office the directors would describe as no bigger than a cupboard. We’re now a 26-strong team of talented web developers, designers, digital marketers and writers. But we want to be able to offer our clients a truly integrated marketing approach that meets customers at every single touchpoint. Acquiring Scriba gives us access to some amazingly skilled PR and comms professionals. The coming together of these two businesses means we can ensure our clients are more competitive than ever before.

Why Scriba?

It’s no coincidence. We’ve chosen to acquire Scriba because of our aligned values and already established relationships - with the team itself and with our shared clients. This is two complementary teams now working more closely together for the benefit of clients and staff alike. 

Will you work with the same team?

Yes. The service you receive won’t change in any way. There are no crew changes afoot - your delivery team will remain exactly the same.

Where can you find out more about the acquisition?

All our clients - those of The Bigger Boat and Scriba - can speak with their account manager at any time, whether that’s to discuss arising opportunities and the potential to explore, or to simply find out how the acquisition might affect your business. Perhaps you have concerns or worries you’d like to talk through - we’re more than happy to ease these, and provide support and reassurance. Ask us anything! 

We’d like to give a special mention to Oliver King at Berwin for his expert legal guidance and to Stuart Ramsey from Accountancy Extra for his financial expertise and support. Find out more about the Scriba PR gurus or, if you’re a client of either business and want to discuss the acquisition, get in touch with your account manager who’ll be happy to help.