This week Havas acquired a majority stake (51%) in Uncommon Creative Studio, the most awarded and fastest growing independent creative company in the UK, reinforcing Havas’ longstanding commitment to investing in creativity to develop meaningful brands. The Uncommon founders will retain a material stake in the business (49%), maintaining their entrepreneurial zest, growing their brand globally and sharing best practice across Havas and parent company Vivendi, a world leader in media, entertainment, and communication.

This landmark deal reflects the entrepreneurial approach of Havas and bucks the industry standard deals – valuing the future potential of Uncommon at £80-120 million considering their projected growth plans. Uncommon will retain its brand, vision and freedom to make its own decisions across its client partners, internal team and creative output in this exciting next stage of growth for the studio.

Uncommon has already attracted some of the world’s biggest and most influential companies, building ‘brands that people in the real world actually wish existed’. The fast-growing agency has twice been named Creative Agency of the Year in the UK, as well as being recently named AdAge’s International Agency of the Year in only 5 years of existence and remains the only majority female-founded company of its scale in the industry.

The addition of Uncommon is yet another clear signal that creativity is at the forefront of what Havas delivers to their clients every day. Alongside Havas London, whose creative reputation continues to grow, it will further strengthen Havas’ presence in the UK. It will also offer an important opportunity to expand the creative network in the United States, building and accelerating on Uncommon’s already robust roster of major US clients won thanks to the agency’s global and diverse mindset, creative reputation and unique studio approach unmatched elsewhere. This deal will supercharge Uncommon’s growth globally and its continued expansion into new capabilities.

Uncommon will retain and grow its brand globally, while collaborating with Havas’ powerful network and world class entertainment brands thanks to Vivendi, such as Canal+, Universal Music Group and Gameloft, to drive creativity across a bigger canvas.

About Havas

Founded in 1835 in Paris, Havas is one of the world’s largest global communications networks, with more than 22,000 people in over 100 countries sharing one single mission: to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses, and people. Havas has developed a fully integrated model through its 70+ Havas Villages around the world, covering all communication activities. The teams of the three business units, Havas Creative Network, Havas Media Network and Havas Health & You, work together with agility and in perfect synergy to offer tailor-made, innovative solutions to clients that support them in their positive transformation. Havas is committed to building a diverse culture where everybody feels they belong and can be themselves and thrive. Havas integrated into Vivendi, a global leader in media, entertainment, and communications, in December 2017. Further information about Havas is available at www.havas.com.

About Uncommon

Uncommon is a creative studio building brands that people in the real world wish existed. Uncommon was founded in 2017 by Lucy Jameson, Natalie Graeme and Nils Leonard and has become the fastest growing start-up in advertising history.

Labeled as ‘the creative company for leaders and founders in a moment of change’ as well as launching their own brands, Uncommon works with a variety of companies including British Airways, Nike Jordan, ITV, WWF, B&Q, H&M and Formula E.

Five years in, the studio continues to make awarded and stand-out work across a breadth of brands locally and globally. Each with something powerful to say; from creating the most recognised mental health initiative in the UK with ITV, to creating a globally infamous free suit hire initiative for H&M – The One Second Suit, to help young men find work, to redefining what the Nike Jordan brand means today launching during the 23’ NBA All-Star Weekend through the eyes of an aspiring female baller, to designing a new brand identity, logo and vision for the world’s biggest game EA Sports FC.

The studio also produced its first feature documentary with renowned director Andrew Dominik for Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ ‘This Much I Know To Be True’ which premiered at Berlinale and SXSW and achieved critical acclaim including The Guardian’s Film of the Week as well as being listed in NME’s top films of the year.

Off the back of being named Campaign’s coveted Creative Agency of the Year twice in its existence, the studio went on to be awarded Ad Age’s International Agency of the Year and were the only British studio listed as one of Fast Company’s Top 10 companies in Advertising globally. As well as most recently winning the studio’s first Grand Prix at the international award show Cannes Lions for its debut outdoor campaign for British Airways. https://www.uncommon.london.