• i-media is a rapidly growing Digital Out of Home (“DOOH”) media owner with exclusive advertising rights across the UK’s Motorway Service Areas (“MSAs”).
• Mayfair’s backing will help i-media to accelerate the roll out of digital screens across the MSA network, invest in new data capabilities, and develop the rapidly growing opportunity for DOOH in programmatic advertising.
• The investment builds on Mayfair’s track record both in DOOH, with prior investments including Talon Outdoor, and AdTech more generally with prior and current investments including SuperAwesome and LoopMe respectively.
• The UK market for OOH advertising was worth £1.3 billion in 2023 and is considered a powerful broadcast medium, reaching 98% of the population every week.
London, September 12th, 2024 – Mayfair Equity Partners (“Mayfair”), a dedicated digital investor with over £2 billion in assets under management, is pleased to announce that it has completed the management buy-out of i-media (“the Company”), a leading DOOH media owner. Mayfair has acquired a majority stake in the business alongside the i-media management team.
i-media has developed the UK’s largest network of full motion large-format digital screens at MSAs via exclusive partnerships with major operators including Moto, Welcome Break, Roadchef, and Extra. With a presence at 130 roadside locations, i-media gives advertisers access to UK motorists, a varied and affluent audience, reaching an average of 6.3 million weekly visitors and more than 31 million unique visitors annually in a high dwell-time environment.
i-media’s closed loop network leverages data, including Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology, to improve audience targeting. It allows for the delivery of advertising that responds in real time to the make, model and age of the vehicles at an MSA, generating insights on the audience targeted by advertisers. This approach delivers dynamic, contextual advertising that generates a tangible and measurable return on investment (ROI) for customers including Disney+, McDonald’s, and VW group.
Under the leadership of industry veteran Jonathan Lewis, i-media has grown revenues by 5x over the past 3 years. Mayfair is partnering with Jonathan and his team to accelerate the roll out of new digital screens, invest in new data capabilities and develop the rapidly growing opportunity in programmatic OOH advertising.
“At i-media, we deliver dynamic digital content to broadcast-sized, high-quality audiences throughout the UK. Every week, our network reaches millions of people with advertising content that changes in real-time, triggered by events such as weather conditions and traffic build up”, said Jonathan Lewis, CEO of i-media. “The Mayfair team’s track record of backing innovative Out of Home media specialists and owners, makes them the ideal partner for i-media. We’re looking forward to working with them on the next phase of our growth plan, rolling out digital assets to reach and engage more consumers, and to maximise and measure returns for some of the world’s biggest brands.”
“i-media is one of the UK’s most exciting and innovative DOOH media owners, combining a high-quality audience with first-class digital and data capabilities”, said Bertie Aykroyd, Partner at Mayfair Equity Partners. “Jonathan has a first-class track record of scaling OOH media owners, and we’re delighted to be partnering with him and his team for the next stage of i-media’s exciting growth journey.”
i-media was advised by GP Bullhound and Mayfair was advised by Highstead Partners on the transaction.
About i-media
Founded in 1995, i-media has been the leading force in Motorway advertising for over 25 years.
A leading UK tech-based OOH company, i-media’s mission is to revolutionise the MSA advertising ecosystem. Equipped with their pioneering data platform, i-media partner with ambitious brands to drive strategic growth and vision.
i-media offers an intelligent motoring media network, powered by data, insights and pioneering technology. Giving advertisers access to an attractive media-starved audience via full motion DOOH, experiential and in-app advertising solutions. A multi-layered communication platform delivering both broadcast and narrowcast audiences through the intelligent use of data and analytics, i-media is ona mission to digitise and redefine how brands connect with on-the-go motorist.
About Mayfair Equity Partners
Mayfair Equity Partners is a dedicated digital investor, with over £2 billion of assets under management. Mayfair’s investment philosophy centres on backing people and their ideas, working with founders and management teams to help them realise their ambitions. Mayfair’s model of Active Partnership includes a senior team of dedicated functional Specialists who support portfolio companies with business process improvement initiatives that help unlock their full potential.
Mayfair has an established track record of supporting fast-growing, sector-defining companies, including Ovo, a digital challenger which has scaled to become the third largest provider in the UK retail energy sector; LoopMe, a leading brand-focused mobile advertising platform; and Talon Outdoor, the market leading OOH Specialist Agency.
For more information, please visit www.mayfairequity.com.
Contact Mayfair Equity Partners
Charlie Harrison
The One Nine Three Group
+44-788-4136-143
