Westbridge has partnered with the management team of Koto, a leading creative agency that provides integrated brand strategy, identity and digital implementation services to some of the largest and most influential companies in the world across tech, financial services, gaming, sports and healthcare.

This investment marks the fourth transaction from WestBridge III.

Ed Minton, director at WestBridge, said:

“We’re joining the Koto journey at a hugely exciting time, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with such a talented team. Koto has carved out a very strong position in the market as a leading independent agency providing some of the highest quality creative work to a growing roster of Fortune 500 companies and leading scale up brands.”

“We’ve built the foundations of a strong, collaborative partnership with Founders James, Jowey and Caroline and with CFO Nick Leatham, and we’re very much looking forward to supporting them and the wider team on delivering Koto’s organic and inorganic growth ambitions.”

James Greenfield, CEO, said:

“In its first decade, Koto has firmly established a reputation for creating brand excellence with some of the world’s most iconic companies. In the process, we’ve built a world-class team, one I’m proud to lead.”

“We have big ambitions for Koto, and we’re thrilled to have WestBridge on board as our partner to help us achieve them. It was an easy decision to partner with the brilliant WestBridge team, and we’re hugely excited about working together to continue building an exceptional business of global scale.”

Rory Whitrow, investment manager at WestBridge, added:

“We back outstanding teams and businesses, providing support through our Value Creation Model to accelerate their underlying growth potential. Throughout the process, we’ve worked closely with the management team to identify the key value creation levers and start building a plan to invest for growth. With our buy and build expertise, we’re also excited about supporting the team on executing its M&A strategy.”

Guy Davies, managing partner at WestBridge, added:

“We are delighted to be supporting the exceptional team and talent at Koto. There is significant organic momentum in the business as it continues to grow with the market and capture share from competition. This marks the fourth investment from WestBridge III, and we’re delighted to have deployed over a third of the capital available for platform investments, within 20 months of the fund commencing its investment period.”

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