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Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Q: How did Creston start?

Creston was established as the holding company of a marketing services group in January 2001 by Don Elgie when he reversed his company, Synergie Consulting, into Creston plc and become the CEO. Formerly a property company, Creston disposed of nearly its entire portfolio by December 2000 in anticipation of repositioning itself as a marketing services group operating a “buy and build” strategy.

Q: What are Creston’s principal business activities?

Creston’s activities include market research, direct marketing and customer relationship marketing (CRM), PR, advertising and channel marketing.

Q: Where is Creston’s head office?

16 Charles II Street
London
SW1Y 4QU
Tel: 020 7930 9757
Fax: 020 7930 8727
headoffice@creston.com

Q: What is Creston's strategy for growth?

To build an international marketing services group by acquiring and building high quality businesses which have a proven history of resilience. To date, Creston has focused on acquisitions within the market research, PR, direct marketing and marketing communications areas.

Q: What are Creston's acquisitions criteria?

Creston's acquisitions criteria are particularly stringent. Potential acquisitions must demonstrate consistent growth, have good growth prospects, an established blue-chip client base, a low level of client attrition and a committed management.

Q: How are deals structured?

Creston does not do all cash deals other than from a trade seller. Through a mixture of cash, loan notes and shares/convertibles with an earn-out typically spread over three years. This ensures that vendors remain committed with a managed succession plan.