Adventis buys Roundhouse

Roundhouse HealthAd has been snapped up by specialist multimedia and marketing agency, the Adventis Group.

Adventis, which bought Chesham-based healthcare media agency, Affiniti, in December 2004, is looking to boost its healthcare offering with the purchase.

ìI am confident that we have laid the foundation for a significant player within the healthcare industry,î said Charles Phillpot, chairman of Adventis. ìWe do not wish to lose what Roundhouse has already built themselves upon, but to develop the model further. We are confident having Roundhouse and Affiniti in the group will generate a large and vibrant healthcare business that can exploit its premier market position.î

Roundhouse managing director, Kevin McGetrick said that when his firm was first approached by Adventis, ìwe were amazed by the sense of shared vision and felt they could become an ideal partner to move the business forwardî.

ìIt was equally important to find that Affiniti had a portfolio of clients and skills that were complementary to our own and there will be synergies almost immediately,î he commented.

Adventis will pay £1.6m for Roundhouse, making an additional cash payment in respect of its net assets, estimated at £400,000, at completion.

Adventis said further announcements, which will most likely concern the launch of a full-service offering including medical education, would be made later this year.

Roundhouse has been trading for over 10 years and has 12 staff, who will continue to operate from its current headquarters near Hertford. The agency's pharma clients include Baxter, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merial, Organon, Pfizer AH and Schering-Plough.