SPA Future Thinking Sells Social Media Stake

Irish broadcaster UTV Media has acquired social media monitoring specialist Simply Zesty from its founders Niall Harbison and Lauren Fisher, and from MR firm SPA Future Thinking which held a stake in the business. The deal is valued at up to £5m.

UTV provides access to radio, TV and online media in 70% of homes in the Republic, as well as running the UK's talkSPORT radio. For Simply Zesty it will pay an initial amount of £1.7m, with further considerations of up to c.£5m depending on future trading performance.

Founded in 2009, Simply Zesty employs 22 staff at its Dublin offices, and specialises in monitoring social media conversations around client brands, and making recommendations from insight gathered from online monitoring. The firm also provides a range of services for creating social media campaigns to support product launches, content distribution, competitions and sales initiatives.

Following completion of the sale, the two founders will work alongside Simply Zesty CEO Ken Fitzpatrick to develop the firm as part of UTV's New Media division.

In 2010, TORA (now SPA Future Thinking) invested EUR 500k in Simply Zesty, to add a 'new level' of social media to its research capabilities.

Fitzpatrick comments: 'Simply Zesty has grown strongly as a social media marketing agency since its foundation, thanks to our great staff and clients - both Irish and International. As part of UTV, we hope to develop our existing brand and business model at an accelerated pace.'

Web sites: www.utvmedia.com , www.simplyzesty.com and www.spafuturethinking.com .