The PR and communications agency, Building Relations PR, is celebrating 10 years in the business this month.
While celebrating the anniversary, the agency has announced its growth strategy for the next ten years, which will be led by Founding Director Rachel Colgan and Managing Director, Kathryn Reucroft.
Building Relations PR is looking to more than double its turnover to £5million by 2035 and increase the number of staff to more than 40 employees. The company plans to open offices in other key regions for development elsewhere in the UK and will expand its international reach.
The company was ranked in three of PR Week’s Top 150 Agencies last year, and will continue to evolve its service in the changing landscape of the communications industry. Over the past two years additional services include establishing a dedicated ESI communications team, with long-term ambitions of achieving B-corp status, and launching a Public Affairs and Political Strategy offering. The agency will also formally launch The Studio, a separate entity within the agency offering graphic design, video and photography services.
Rachel Colgan, Founding Director, said: “It feels an incredible achievement to be celebrating a decade of Building Relations PR. What started as a small but mighty operation has transformed into a 20-strong team, some of whom have been with us from almost the start, across three offices in London, Edinburgh and Surrey. We have big ambitions for the next 10 years, which will see us continue to adapt to the ever-changing face of PR and ensure we remain ahead of the curve with our service offering.
“In the last decade, the delivery of news has undergone a seismic shift, with digital platforms taking centre stage. Online news sources and social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat have become the go-to for many, offering real-time news and far more perspectives than traditional print media. This creates more opportunities but means that PR professionals have to be much quicker off the mark to secure column inches. It’s anyone’s guess where top tier results will be in ten years’ time, but we are prepared to adapt.”
Building Relations PR was set up in 2015 by Rachel after she left her position at Barratt Developments Plc the UK’s largest national housebuilder, where she set up its first PR team. With nearly 20 years’ experience, Rachel founded her own firm on the principles of providing PR services with integrity and purpose, focusing on property, new homes, construction and the built environment.
Former colleague and friend, Kathryn Reucroft, joined Rachel in 2016 as Managing Director, after the pair met as Account Executives at Trimedia Harrison Cowley (now Grayling) in 2007. Kathryn had previously spent over 10 years working in some of London’s most dynamic PR agencies, including Four Communications, representing notable property developments across the UK and overseas.
The duo initially worked out of a small office in Egham, Surrey, but quickly established themselves as experts in the property PR field and expanded both staff and offices to cope with the growing demand. Building Relations now has more than 20 staff based out of offices in Egham, London and Edinburgh and works with property clients to raise their profiles locally, nationally and internationally across its UK and global affiliate network.
Reflecting on the standout moments from the last decade, Kathryn Reucroft said: “There have been countless highlights since I joined Building Relations PR, with a whole host of events from the opening of the Michelin star Roux at Skindles restaurant for Berkeley Homes to the launch of luxury penthouses with AMA in Edinburgh. We have had the privilege of launching new property companies into the UK, from several new proptech startups to the opening of Nest Seekers in London, the property brokerage behind the popular Netflix show Million Dollar Beach House.
“As Building Relations PR has grown, we have been able to share that journey with some of our longstanding clients such as Barratt Redrow, evolving from delivering national campaigns to working with Barratt International to raise their profile overseas with press and influencer trips. It has also been rewarding to continue to work on developments such as Barratt’s flagship Kingsbrook scheme, which I initially worked on in-house at Barratt over 10 years ago at the groundbreaking stage.”
