Integrated marketing, advertising and communications agency, BJL, is today delighted to announce it is opening the doors on a new London based operation, drawing on 25 years of success to create a fresh, new offer in the capital. Focussing on appealing to a new prospective client base and attracting the best and brightest talent to complement the agency’s existing team, the move represents an exciting new phase in the development of the highly regarded agency.

With strategic operation of the new office being overseen by BJL CEO Nicky Unsworth, Paul Bentley, former Board Director at Iris, AESOP and a previous BJL employee in Manchester prior to moving to London seven years ago, has been brought on board to head up the new operation on a day-to-day basis. A senior team including Head of Content Alex Dandeker and Account Planner Guy Ainsworth will also join the London office, supported by Creative Director Tom Richards who will move between both offices. Additional recruitment for the London office is ongoing and will look to draw on a talent pool within the capital, as well as encouraging staff movement to and from the Manchester office, where opportunities arise.

With an enviable client list, BJL’s growth has been well on the way even prior to talk of new post-recession operating conditions. Adding to existing national and international clients including: British Airways, Subaru, Isuzu, Asda, Silentnight, Betfred, Yorkshire Building Society and Swinton Insurance, BJL’s strong client base provides a solid platform for expansion, offering prospective new clients looking for London based support, access to the same BJL standard of planning, creativity and campaign delivery.
Based on Rivington Street in Shoreditch, the core team is now in place and actively building a client base.

Nicky Unsworth, BJL CEO, said of the news: “The opportunity to launch in London and combine the energy, anticipation and optimism of a start up with the scale and support of an existing operation is rare. It’s fair to say we’re all very excited about it. With a fantastic team already in place, we’re looking forward to bringing on board a new generation of BJL talent drawn from our proximity to Shoreditch’s Silicon Roundabout as well as bringing through talent from outside London. Having flourished during the tough times of the past few years, we’re all incredibly proud to be putting this stake in the ground for the future as we set out to introduce BJL’s unique culture and creativity to the capital.”

Paul Bentley, Director at BJL London, added: “At BJL it’s our aim to make creativity the most effective commercial asset for our clients and we will be focussing on replicating this approach with the London office. Drawing on 25 years of accomplishments as an independent agency in Manchester, I’m looking forward to applying BJL’s strong channel agnostic approach and creative thinking to a forward thinking London focussed client base.”