LEWIS PR offers Leads United internationalisation

Leads United

Increase in scale thanks to take-over

Aartselaar, 28 October 2009 - Leads United, a communication consultancy agency from the Antwerp area, has today signed a contract for take-over by LEWIS PR, an international full-service communication agency, specialising in social media and PR campaigns. The LEWIS PR Group, with 38 offices worldwide, is a real international player with a large number of international clients.

Following the take-over, all shares will come into the hands of LEWIS PR. The present management of Leads United will from the office in Aartselaar, continue its responsibilities as before, based on the existing strategy.

The combination of Leads United and LEWIS PR will lead to a comprehensive solution for Global PR with various target groups on a worldwide scale. This take-over means a considerable increase in scale for Leads United and implementation of its 2006 strategy: internationalisation.

The Antwerp communication agency has already been on the Belgian market for 16 years and with its 16 staff is one of the top Belgian communication agencies. Leads United serves national and international clients in different sectors. The team specialises in Internal Communication, Media Relations, Crisis Communication and Online Communication. Together with LEWIS PR's Dutch office, offering similar services with 22 staff, Leads United is a strong and balanced Benelux formation.

The Leads United brand will continue to exist for the time being.

"We are pleased with today's announcement" says Dian Wahlen, Managing Director of Leads United. "By merging with LEWIS PR we have implemented one of our strategic objectives, namely internationalisation. This offers a challenging arena for our clients, a bigger critical mass, wider career prospects for our staff and financial stability for the organisation. Leads United and LEWIS PR share a common vision and our respective services are fully complementary. LEWIS PR fits in perfectly with our corporate culture and vision for the future, which will make the integration to run smoothly. Thanks to our united forces we expect to be able to position ourselves even better on the worldwide market. We are pleased to be able to direct our growth further with the help of the extra opportunities that the LEWIS PR Group offers us."

"This is an important step for LEWIS PR in Europe and in particular for Benelux. Leads United has a fantastic reputation in this region," says Yvonne Van Bokhoven, VP Western Europe at LEWIS PR. "LEWIS PR has already been in the Benelux for over 9 years and has 25 staff. With the experienced team of Leads United in Belgium on board we are a very strong Benelux team, one of the best in the sector at the moment. We are therefore convinced that this acquisition will enrich all those involved."

About Leads United
Leads United, ( www.leadsunited.com) a communication consultancy agency operating in the Benelux countries, has a clear goal in view: to bring and maintain the brands, ideas and activities of our clients to the attention of the right target groups. Leads United was set up in 1993 and at present has 16 staff. The core business includes media relations, internal communication and crisis communication. For each of these disciplines Leads United has developed specific expertise in the field of social media (blogging, RSS feeds, podcasts, wikis, videocasts, etc.). Leads United has its own training institute, Leads'Cool. New international accounts will from now on be serviced by making use of the worldwide PR network of LEWIS PR.

About LEWIS PR
LEWIS PR (www.lewispr.com) is an international PR agency set up in 1995, with head office in London. In addition it has a further 38 offices worldwide. The Benelux branches are in Eindhoven and Antwerp. In total LEWIS PR has 280 staff generating turnover of over 20 million €.

Thanks to a worldwide network of fully-owned subsidiaries LEWIS PR guarantees a consistent approach and in-depth knowledge of local markets. LEWIS PR produces measureable results at predictable costs.

For more information you can contact:
Dian Wahlen, Managing Director van Leads United
Mastboomstraat, 8
2630 Aartselaar/Antwerp
Tel: + 32 3 466.01.88
Fax: +32 3 466.01.80
E-mail: dian.wahlen@leadsunited.com

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