Glover Park Group (GPG)
Glover Park Group (GPG)
Company Overview & Background
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. with additional offices in New York, Los Angeles and Boulder, GPG is a full-service strategic consulting firm providing integrated communication solutions to Fortune 500 companies, foundations, non-profit organizations, initiative campaigns and industry coalitions.
In 2006, SC recapitalized the business in partnership with the GPG management team.
Invest in a senior leadership team with a well established network of client relationships.
Leverage GPG’s monthly retainer revenue model and attractive margin profile to generate strong, consistent cash flow.
Provide capital to acquire new senior talent with existing books of business to drive growth for the company.
Strategically expand geographic coverage and enhance capabilities.
Identified the need for enhanced infrastructure and assisted in the implementation of improved project management systems.
Granted equity to key employees to drive retention and align incentives.
Supported the hiring of senior resources to diversify revenue attribution.
Established a specialized go to market strategy focused on targeted industry verticals.
GPG experienced strong organic revenue and EBITDA growth throughout SC’s investment period.
Added a high-level, former CEO as an independent director to the Board; this director helped management shape compensation arrangements and provided valuable perspective on strategic issues.
Increased the average size and scope of both retainers and projects, while enhancing cross-selling capabilities.
Result
GPG was sold to WPP, plc, in 2011 resulting in a successful outcome for all shareholders involved in the transaction. At the time, WPP was the world’s largest communications service group and was a publicly traded company on both London Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Global Select market. WPP was attracted to GPG given its topical expertise, differentiated integrated communications capabilities and strong leadership talent.
“I’m grateful for our partnership with SC and am proud of what we built together. SC helped us professionalize our business and strengthen our postion in the market.”
