Following a raft of new client wins Manchester agency, Flow Creative, has made three senior hires to help bolster its offering to include strategic brand consultancy as well as the design and animation work it’s well known for, helping to ensure a more integrated service to clients.

The growing agency has taken on Mark Higginson as Head of Creative, who will lead the charge on brand strategy and design, Jamie Angel as Partnerships Manager, who will be responsible for building stronger client partnerships and Emma Shaw as Studio Manager, who brings extensive creative project management experience into the mix to ensure smooth running of this vital element of the business.

The award-winning agency welcomes NICE, the health and social care organisation, financial services experts Fluent Money Group, green energy technology specialists Kiwi Power and hearing aid manufacturers Oticon to its family of clients, joining existing clients such as Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the BBC.

Now in its fifth year, the creative agency has seen impressive growth over the last few years, which has led to the business expanding into a large, multi-functional studio space in the Northern Quarter. The business now boasts an enviable roster of clients and has picked up a collection of high-profile industry awards for its creative client campaigns.

Flow’s founder and Creative Director, Karl Doran, says: “We’ve had a phenomenal period of bringing in new clients and building relationships with existing ones, and I’m really excited to grow our talented team with the addition of Emma, Mark and Jamie. They bring with them a wealth of experience and skills that will help us manage this new demand and to push Flow to the next level.

“Emma has a background in filmmaking and has managed film and animation studios for many years, Mark has led creative teams and has 15 years of experience creating brands, and Jamie has an excellent track record in relationship building and understanding client’s needs.

“We started as a motion design studio so are used to creating compelling and beautiful animation, with the brand experience we now have in-house we’re able to provide a more holistic service to our clients. We’re combining our skills as storytellers and filmmakers with strategic thinking and brand building to create brand eco-systems with movement at their core.”

Emma Shaw commented: “I’d watched Flow develop as a company from the start and was always really impressed by their fearless creativity. Working with them now, I have also learned that they are an awesome team of people with integrity and a desire to use their powers for good.”

Mark Higginson added: “The ambition and direction Karl highlighted for Flow is what really stood out to me when first sitting down to discuss things. We both agreed that the role of an agency in these times has evolved and is needed more than ever. A beacon for our sector, with sound ethical principles, a big sense of community as well as being able to pull all facets of brand communication together in one lovingly crafted narrative.”

“It’s an agency that brings together ideas, strategic thinking and movement under one roof, and that’s built upon the power of its people and culture. It’s all pretty exciting stuff. Flow has always been one of the agencies on my radar. So now it’s fantastic to be here to help take the studio to that next level.”

Jamie Angel added: “Having seen and heard so much about the work Flow produces, I was really excited to join the team. I’ve always been impressed by Flow’s creative energy and since joining I can see why they’re the number one choice for the amazing clients they work with.”

The three hires take Flow Creative to seven full-time team members.

The boss of a fast-growing start-up predicts turnover at its Rochdale base will double to £6m following their move into new premises.

Ryan Hopley only launched Repair Maintenance & Overhaul (RMO) in 2018 but it already boasts four offices and an annual turnover of £6m, with Rochdale accounting for half.

The business is an electrical mechanical and instrumentation distributor and supplies multiple sectors including oil and gas, construction, rail, water, utilities and food production.

It grew by a third in 2020 despite the pandemic and is about to move into a 6,488 sq ft unit at Rochdale Council’s Logic development at Kingsway Business Park.

Mr Hopley said: “We’re really excited to be moving to Logic. We were literally bursting at the seams at our old site in Harriett Street. We had no room but didn’t want to leave Rochdale. We worked with Rochdale Development Agency and as soon as we saw the unit at Logic we realised that was where we wanted to be. It’s a great location next to the M62.

“We currently employ eight people in Rochdale but that will increase to 12 after the fit-out of our new unit at Logic. Rochdale accounts for half our turnover and we think that will double to £6m with the move. I’m a Milnrow lad so setting up a business in Rochdale was the natural choice.”

Mr Hopley only decided to launch his own business after a shock cancer diagnosis in 2015. He recounted: “I was working for a large corporate electrical distributor and developed a bulge in my stomach that I wrongly assumed was a hernia. I had a scan and it turned out to be kidney cancer. I’ve been given the five-year all clear and I’m living life to the full.

“Going through something like that changes the way you approach life. I’d always wanted to set up a business so after my cancer battle I decided to do it and jumped in feet first.”

Mr Hopley was 46 when he launched his first RMO site in Harriett Street, Rochdale, and followed it up with branch openings in Liverpool in 2019, Grimsby in 2020 and the acquisition of a Teeside-based business.

He explained: “The Grimsby move was a game-changer for us because it allowed us to expand into mechanical and instrumentation and that’s fuelled the growth. We’re now bringing the mechanical and instrumentation together with the electrical into Rochdale which is why we needed the bigger space at Logic.”

The managing director said he had another personal reason for moving to Logic.

“Before Logic was built my Mum used to keep horses on the same land as the new unit is on,” he said. “It feels like fate coming here. The unit is currently been fitted out but when it’s finished we’re going to put a horse shoe on the boardroom wall for good luck.

“I should have launched the business years ago but I feel as though we’re catching up for lost time.

“Rochdale is a great place to base a business because of the people and the excellent connectivity and we can’t wait for the move to Logic in week commencing March 22 when we look forward to helping customers old and new with their requirements.”