Dentsu Aegis Network acquires majority share of New Zealand agency Barnes, Catmur & Friends

Dentsu Aegis Network today announces the acquisition of a majority share in Barnes, Catmur & Friends (BC&F) New Zealand, establishing creative capability for Dentsu Aegis Network in the market to further strengthen the business in New Zealand.

BC&F founders Daniel Barnes and Paul Catmur will remain in their roles as leaders of the newly named BC&F Dentsu and will continue to be supported by the existing BC&F management team including general manager, Luke Farmer.

Founded in 1996, the award winning and highly regarded full-service creative agency with 31 staff in Auckland will be the flagship creative agency brand of Dentsu Aegis Network in New Zealand and the country’s first Dentsu offering.

Working across creative, media, digital, design, and direct, BC&F is currently recognised as New Zealand’s most effective independent agency and is ranked number one in Asia Pacific, according to the Effies index.

Says Rob Harvey, New Zealand CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network: “I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Barnes, Catmur & Friends into Dentsu Aegis Network. I have long admired the work of the BC&F team and the addition of the agency to our group is a significant step towards achieving our strategic goals in New Zealand.

“BC&F share many of our values, not the least of which is a dedication to innovation and collaboration to deliver results for clients. Their business is very complementary to our group from both a capability and cultural perspective. We have no desire to change the things that have made BC&F so successful in the past. Daniel, Paul, and Luke are great leaders and I look forward to working with them to achieve our ambitions for both BC&F Dentsu, and the wider Dentsu Aegis Network group in New Zealand.”

Says Barnes: “Dentsu have impressed us with their new approach to agency networks and their desire to let us continue with the freedom to do what we do best. Joining Dentsu Aegis Network gives us access to great talent, services, tools, data and technology both locally and from the global network.”

Says Catmur: “While our existing set of great clients and people remains our priority we look forward to new opportunities working within the DAN network.”

Says Simon Ryan, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Australia & New Zealand: “It is great to further support our growth mantra in New Zealand and expand our service capability with this acquisition. Our scale and specialist service offering is market leading and it’s exciting to see a proper client-focused operating model in play, with the addition of BC&F Dentsu driving this further.”

(Pictured L-R: Paul Catmur, Luke Farmer, Daniel Barnes, Rob Harvey)