THE rapid rise of Tunbidge Wells firm GingerMay has been recognised as one of the fastest growing businesses in its field according to the trade publication PR Week.
Specialising in tech related PR, the Calverley House-based company was founded in the kitchen of its Managing Director Victoria Usher seven years ago, but it now has a permanent presence in the capital and overseas, with offices in New York and Berlin.
But the bulk of its operations remain at its Tunbridge Wells headquarters in Calverley House.
A 51 per cent jump in its revenue derived from contracts with technology firms last year, coming in at £1.6million, saw the firm rank number 21 in the this year’s PR weekly UK top 150 tech PR firms.
Mrs Usher, who describes herself as ‘born and bred’ in Tunbridge Wells, founded the firm after having a child and a desire to ‘take control’ of her destiny.
Her previous employment as a political researcher and then as a data analyst meant she gained the skills needed to set up a specialist PR firm.
“My early 20’s was spent in politics and speech writing, which is where the PR part comes from. I then wanted to do something more tangible and became a data analyst at a technology firm which introduced me to that sector,” she explained, adding: “Setting up a business is really hard though. It is long hours, seven days a week.”
Within three years she employed four freelancers in her business, but the real growth took of later and now the firm employs over 30 staff in its four offices, the majority of which are based in the town.
Remarkably, the expansion has been driven 100 per cent by referrals and Mrs Usher’s list of current clients still counts the first two to sign up.
Approximately a fifth of GingerMay’s clients, which include London and Silicone Valley start-ups, go on to sell up each year. One client was recently sold for £150million.
And although Mrs Usher claims many of the firms she helps ‘will be unknown to the public for at least a couple more years’ that does not mean her work has gone unnoticed as she now helps with the PR as an advisor for the Mayor of London’s trade board.
Commenting on the PR Week ranking, Mrs Usher said: “Being listed at such a high entry point in PR Week’s Top 150 is a huge accolade for our business. The data shows that GingerMay is currently the fastest growing tech PR agency in the UK, which is a significant achievement for a company as young as ours.”
“We are proud to be growing our successful global tech business from our headquarters in Tunbridge Wells, and our listing is testament to how hard our team works. The news follows an amazing year for GingerMay PR – which also saw the opening of additional offices in London, New York, and Berlin – and we have further exciting growth plans for this year and beyond.”
