Latest news with #Wildstone
Campaign ME
11 hours ago
- Business
- Campaign ME
Multiply Media Group expands to the UK, partners with Wildstone
Multiply Media Group (MMG) has announced a strategic long-term partnership with the UK's Wildstone, one of the world's largest owners of outdoor media infrastructure with a portfolio of over 5,400 panels. This partnership gives MMG, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based investment holding company Multiply Group exclusive rights to manage and operate a portfolio of premium digital out-of-home (DOOH) sites in central London. The move marks a significant step in the Group's strategy to create a borderless, tech-enabled media powerhouse. These assets will be commercialised and operated by BackLite Media, a subsidiary of MMG. 'Expanding into the UK marks a pivotal step in MMG's global growth journey,' said Jawad Hassan, Head of Media and Communications Vertical at Multiply Group.' He noted the Wildstone partnership enables the Group's ambition by providing it with immediate scale. 'Positioned as a strategic launchpad into international media markets, London offers the ideal setting for us to deliver meaningful brand experiences across one of the world's most iconic urban landscapes,' Hassan said. The first operational asset taken over is the Wandsworth Roundabout, which was among 13 high-traffic sites acquired by Wildstone from Transport for London (TfL) earlier this year. The site features four large-format digital screens and is situated on one of London's busiest junctions, with bi-weekly impacts of 6.2 million. 'Partnering with Wildstone deepens our presence in a mature, high-impact market and extends Backlite's premium inventory beyond the UAE,' said James Bicknell, Group CEO of Multiply Media Group. 'Through MMG, we are embracing the evolving media landscape that powers dynamic and impactful campaigns – and this collaboration marks an important step in delivering on that promise at a global scale.' Further adding to the conversation, Damian Cox, Global CEO and Founding Partner of Wildstone, said: 'We are excited to partner with MMG as they bring their forward-thinking approach to London's DOOH market.' 'This collaboration reflects our vision to elevate the standards of urban media infrastructure and help deliver more impactful DOOH campaigns for advertisers across London,' Cox added. Multiply Media Group was officially launched in June 2025, uniting three of the UAE's market-leading out-of-home (OOH) companies – BackLite Media, Viola Media and Media 247 – under a single, tech-enabled media house headquartered in the UAE. The launch took place at the World Out of Home Organization (WOO) Annual Congress in Mexico City and was marked by a bold global DOOH takeover that illuminated cities and screens worldwide with MMG's presence. This international move into London marks MMG's first major expansion beyond the Middle East, reflecting Multiply Group's global growth strategy. With a market cap of over $7.2bn, Multiply Group aims to continue to build scale and impact across its verticals through disciplined, future-facing investments. Finally, MMG claims to be actively exploring further market entries in other global cities. This expansion sets the stage for new acquisitions, partnerships, and investments that align with MMG's mandate to reshape the media sector through scale and forward-looking strategies.
Entrepreneur
a day ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Multiply Media Expands into UK Through Wildstone Partnership
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Multiply Media Group (MMG), a media powerhouse focused on strategic growth and meaningful brand engagement, has secured a long-term partnership with Wildstone, one of the world's largest owners of outdoor media infrastructure with a portfolio of over 5,400 panels, gaining exclusive rights to operate a major portfolio of outdoor media assets. The strategic alliance marks a major step in MMG's global growth, as it launches operations in the UK market. A newly formed media entity uniting three of the UAE's leading Out-of-Home (OOH) companies, MMG officially launched with ambitions for rapid international expansion. The group - formed in June 2025 through the consolidation of BackLite Media, Viola Media, and Media 247 - is headquartered in the UAE and backed by Multiply Group, an Abu Dhabi-based investment holding company with a market capitalisation exceeding $7.2bn. The deal grants MMG exclusive rights to operate a portfolio of premium digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) sites across central London - a move that marks a key step in its strategy to build a global, tech-enabled media platform. The assets will be commercialised and managed by BackLite Media, MMG's media operating subsidiary. Speaking on the announcement, Jawad Hassan, Head of Media and Communications Vertical at Multiply Group, said: "Expanding into the UK marks a pivotal step in MMG's global growth journey. Our partnership with Wildstone is a key enabler of that ambition, providing us with immediate scale. Positioned as a strategic launchpad into international media markets, London offers the ideal setting for us to deliver meaningful brand experiences across one of the world's most iconic urban landscapes." The first operational asset taken over is the Wandsworth Roundabout, which was among 13 high-traffic sites acquired by Wildstone from Transport for London (TfL) earlier this year. The site features four large-format digital screens and is situated on one of London's busiest junctions, with bi-weekly impacts of 6.2m. With exclusive rights to operate digital OOH sites in central London, MMG is using the UK capital as a strategic launchpad into Europe. The group has indicated that further international market entries are on the horizon, with plans underway to expand into other key global cities. The company will continue to invest in high-potential media assets, leverage technology to accelerate growth, and create value-driven synergies across its global portfolio. James Bicknell, Group CEO of Multiply Media Group, said: "At MMG, our mission is to shape a future-ready media group rooted in regional strength and global ambition. Partnering with Wildstone deepens our presence in a mature, high-impact market and extends Backlite's premium inventory beyond the UAE. Through MMG, we are embracing the evolving media landscape that powers dynamic and impactful campaigns - and this collaboration marks an important step in delivering on that promise at a global scale." Damian Cox, Global CEO and Founding Partner of Wildstone, said: "We are excited to partner with MMG as they bring their forward-thinking approach to London's DOOH market. This collaboration reflects our vision to elevate the standards of urban media infrastructure and help deliver more impactful DOOH campaigns for advertisers across London."
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Multiply Media Group enters UK market with Wildstone partnership, accelerating global expansion
ABU DHABI, UAE: Multiply Media Group (MMG), a media powerhouse focused on strategic growth and meaningful brand engagement, has announced a strategic landmark long-term partnership with Wildstone, one of the world's largest owners of outdoor media infrastructure with a portfolio of over 5,400 panels. This partnership gives MMG, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based investment holding company Multiply Group (ADX: MULTIPLY), exclusive rights to manage and operate a portfolio of premium digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) sites in central London - marking a significant step in the group's strategy to create a borderless, tech-enabled media powerhouse. These assets will be commercialised and operated by BackLite Media, a subsidiary of MMG. Speaking on the announcement, Jawad Hassan, Head of Media and Communications Vertical at Multiply Group, said: Expanding into the UK marks a pivotal step in MMG's global growth journey. Our partnership with Wildstone is a key enabler of that ambition, providing us with immediate scale. Positioned as a strategic launchpad into international media markets, London offers the ideal setting for us to deliver meaningful brand experiences across one of the world's most iconic urban landscapes.' The first operational asset taken over is the Wandsworth Roundabout, which was among 13 high-traffic sites acquired by Wildstone from Transport for London (TfL) earlier this year. The site features four large-format digital screens and is situated on one of London's busiest junctions, with bi-weekly impacts of 6.2 million. James Bicknell, Group CEO of Multiply Media Group, said: 'At MMG, our mission is to shape a future-ready media group rooted in regional strength and global ambition. Partnering with Wildstone deepens our presence in a mature, high-impact market and extends Backlite's premium inventory beyond the UAE. Through MMG, we are embracing the evolving media landscape that powers dynamic and impactful campaigns — and this collaboration marks an important step in delivering on that promise at a global scale.' Damian Cox, Global CEO and Founding Partner of Wildstone, said: 'We are excited to partner with MMG as they bring their forward-thinking approach to London's DOOH market. This collaboration reflects our vision to elevate the standards of urban media infrastructure and help deliver more impactful DOOH campaigns for advertisers across London.' Multiply Media Group was officially launched in June 2025, uniting three of the UAE's market-leading out-of-home (OOH) companies - BackLite Media, Viola Media and Media 247 - under a single, tech-enabled media powerhouse headquartered in the UAE. The launch took place at the World Out of Home Organization (WOO) Annual Congress in Mexico City and was marked by a bold global DOOH takeover that illuminated cities and screens worldwide with MMG's presence. This international move into London marks MMG's first major expansion beyond the Middle East, reflecting Multiply Group's global growth strategy. With a market cap of over $7.2 billion, Multiply Group continues to build scale and impact across its verticals through disciplined, future-facing investments. With London as a strategic gateway into Europe, MMG is actively exploring further market entries in other global cities. This expansion sets the stage for new acquisitions, partnerships, and investments that align with MMG's mandate to reshape the media sector through scale and forward-looking strategies. MMG will continue to invest in high-potential media assets, catalyse growth through technology and create value-driven synergies across its global portfolio. About Multiply Group Multiply Group PJSC is an Abu Dhabi-based investment holding company that globally invests and operates in transformative, cash-generating businesses. Known for its trademark growth mindset, Multiply Group will continue to deploy capital across its two distinct arms, both of which follow a disciplined approach to investing and ensure consistent, sustainable value creation for our shareholders in the short-, medium- and long-term: Multiply, the investments and operations in long-term strategic verticals, currently investing and operating in Mobility, Energy & Utilities, Media & Communications, Wellness & Beauty, and Retail & Apparel. Anchor investments provide long-term recurring income, through which bolt-on acquisitions are made. Multiply+, the Group further engages in opportunistic, sector-agnostic investments, via mainly minority stakes in private and public markets. For more information, visit About Multiply Media Group Multiply Media Group (MMG) is a media powerhouse committed to driving performance and innovation across the sector. The company invests in high-potential media assets, catalysing growth through innovation and creating synergy across its portfolio through strategic investment and smart leadership. MMG includes BackLite Media, Viola Media, Media 247 and Purple Printing. Together, they form an integrated ecosystem built to deliver scale, precision, and sustained value. MMG provides the clarity required to lead meaningful transformation in the industry. Through targeted investment in technology, talent and innovation, it develops future-ready products and services, multiplying impact, accelerating innovation and driving long-term growth. For more information, visit About Wildstone Wildstone is the largest owner of outdoor media infrastructure in the world. The company's portfolio of over 5,000 out-of-home advertising assets includes digital advertising screens in a variety of formats, classic billboards and super premium digital sites. The company buys and rents property sites for outdoor advertising across the UK, Europe and Australia, helping property owners generate income from their unused land or building facades in high-traffic locations. Wildstone partners with media operators by offering new OOH locations as well as the expertise and is shaping the future of outdoor advertising through the digitisation of out-of-home assets. The company provides high-quality roadside media that stand the test of time, using next-generation LED screen technology that is lightweight, slim, high performing and energy efficient. Wildstone is a portfolio company of Antin Infrastructure Partners which has been supporting the company's ambitious plans since 2022. For more information, visit
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How I became 'king of billboards' and sold my business for £1bn
When serial entrepreneur Damian Cox shunned university for skiing in the late 1990s and returned to London some five years later looking for a job, it was for anything other than being an estate agent. Cox had previously attended the now-closed Douai School in Berkshire, run by Benedictine monks, and says that around three quarters of his year went on to run their own businesses. 'There must be a direct correlation between the fact that we learned nothing, other than how to look after ourselves and maybe how to create something out of nothing,' says the founder and CEO of Wildstone, one of the world's biggest billboard companies valued today at £2bn. 'As a result, I think we all became quite entrepreneurial.' Read More: The boss who has found 'nature's answer to plastic' Growing up alongside a single mother and three sisters, Cox asked a recruitment friend for any upcoming vacancies and started as a development executive for a start-up called Blow Up Media, which signed up sites and put adverts on scaffolding. As its first UK employee, Cox witnessed scale firsthand as the firm reached a multi-million pound turnover in a few years. He also believed he was the 'worst paid person in the company'. This after negotiating its first sale of £80,000 per month. Following a meeting with the CEO and with no pay rise forthcoming, he left the firm. Cox co-founded a competing venture the next day, having already built a network of landlord contacts. He admits now to lacking business know-how, cash flow experience and, crucially, that being paid on the same day simply didn't exist. 'There was this sort of Gordon Brown-esque extended payment term of 30, 60, 100 days. So you had to pay your landlords on Monday and you didn't get your money for 100 days. And that was a very, very big lesson in business.' Over a year later, a business magazine profiled Cox and his business, EK Straas, which was seen by leading outdoor advertising companies JCDecaux ( and Clear Channel (CCO), the latter offering an undisclosed 'life-changing amount of money' despite not yet being profitable. Cox, 50, worked as a senior executive for Clear Channel for about a year but soon shunned the corporate world after witnessing what he says was a lack of ambition, innovation or growth. Instead, he challenged the consolidated outdoor billboard market with his next agency venture in 2004. Ocean Outdoor aimed to find the best assets and attract a greater revenue profile. Read More: Meet the company that finds 'must-haves' to make everyday life easier He negotiated a deal with a central London landlord on one of the highest profile banner sites by Tottenham Court Road station before erecting the first digital panel in Liverpool. 'The business snowballed from there,' says Cox. In 2010, he was effectively sacked from his start-up after bringing a chairman on board he failed to bond with and the market having suffered from the 2008 financial crisis. 'I was trying to be all things to all people without acknowledging what I'm really good and bad at. So maybe they made the right decision,' recalls Cox. 'But the market did return quickly and that was a pretty brutal learning for me. I'm very thankful today that it did happen because I wouldn't have Wildstone without that period of negativity.' Wildstone, his third venture he co-founded with Patrick Fisher in 2010, set out as a consultancy business as it first extracted revenue from landlords and took commission before becoming the world's largest media infrastructure company. 'We became successful very quickly, however you sometimes underestimate your own ambition. I didn't have the ambition to take over the world, but soon it became apparent that actually that's what I wanted to do again. 'I'm fortunate enough to suffer from ADHD which allows me to compartmentalise things easily. My mother was also a huge guiding force for me in lots of ways because I watched someone bring up four kids with nothing. I can't sit at home doing nothing. I love putting a creative vision in place and seeing if it's achievable.' Wildstone has acquired, upgraded and digitised super-sized billboard posts into architecturally-led designs. The Hammersmith-based firm, which employs 130 staff globally, was sold to private equity in September 2022 for around £1bn, with Wildstone now boasting around 5,500 billboards across the UK, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as Australia. 'People often see the other side, that you've made some money and it must be easy for you,' admits Cox, who lives in the Cotswolds and is an avid collector of emerging artists. 'But they don't see the 10 years of not sleeping or the anxiety that goes with it. Having a business bank account with £50,000 in it and you've got a wage bill on Friday of £400,000; those kinds of elements get lost in history and it's really difficult. 'I wouldn't underestimate that to anyone starting a company. You're navigating politics, revenue, cash flow, a market you can't control. And all of that has to come together in a way that allows you to move forward and survive.' Read More: The life lesson behind 335-year-old funeral business When the business was sold 12 years after being founded, Wildstone's leadership ensured a 'lump sum of cash' for every employee and further qualification for remaining at the company. Staff turnover remains small. Cox remained as global CEO after the sale, following several months of feeling 'deeply unhappy and depressed' after spending years scaling companies. Reinvigorated, he says that billboards today are 'still at the front of everything' when it comes to contextual advertising. 'It's the last broadcast medium that you can't swipe,' says Cox, who aims to grow Wildstone globally to the tune of a £15bn valuation. 'If it's on the side of a road you're driving down, you're going to see it. That for me makes it very attractive and we are becoming more and more valuable.' Helping a competitive market grow You do get slightly aggravated by the level of red tape, tax and constant desire by governmental bodies to take off you, which makes business harder as time goes on. In our industry, business rates are a prime example. Local authorities hate advertising, but they're happy to slap a 40-45p in the pound business levy on every advertising asset for doing nothing. Cash flow means you're very rarely positive for at least a couple of years on building one advertising panel. The benefit we have is that I am able to say that we own that infrastructure and I'll give you 100 billboards that are now digitised. I'll let you pay in arrears for the first quarter so you've got time to build up that cash flow to be able to pay. So actually our business makes the market wholly more competitive than it ever has been before. And it means that the stranglehold some of the bigger players have isn't necessarily as tight as they'd like it to be. We're able to push some of the smaller players up into the market. This is great because, after all, it's hard building a business. Read more: Meet the 'jokers from London' who sold 100,000 blocks of butter in first 10 weeks 'My sofa took six months to arrive — so I built a £20m business' 'I paid myself £4 an hour to get my Rollr deodorant off the ground'Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How I became 'king of billboards' and sold my business for £1bn
When serial entrepreneur Damian Cox shunned university for skiing in the late 1990s and returned to London some six years later looking for a job, it was for anything other than being an estate agent. Cox had previously attended the now-closed Douai School in Berkshire, run by Benedictine monks, and says that around three quarters of his year went on to run their own businesses. 'There must be a direct correlation between the fact that we learned nothing, other than how to look after ourselves and maybe how to create something out of nothing,' says the founder and CEO of Wildstone, one of the world's biggest billboard companies valued today at £2bn. 'As a result, I think we all became quite entrepreneurial.' Read More: The boss who has found 'nature's answer to plastic' Growing up alongside a single mother and three sisters, Cox asked a recruitment friend for any upcoming vacancies and started as a development executive for a start-up called Blow Up Media, which signed up sites and put adverts on scaffolding. As its first UK employee, Cox witnessed scale firsthand as the firm reached a multi-million pound turnover in a few years. He also believed he was the 'worst paid person in the company'. This after negotiating its first sale of £80,000 per month. Following a meeting with the CEO and no pay rise forthcoming, he left the firm. Cox co-founded a competing venture the next day, having already built a network of landlord contacts. He admits now to lacking business know-how, cash flow experience and, crucially, that being paid on the same day didn't exist. 'There was this sort of Gordon Brown-esque extended payment term of 30, 60, 100 days. So you had to pay your landlords on Monday and you didn't get your money for 100 days. And that was a very, very big lesson in business.' Over a year later, a business magazine profiled Cox and his business, EK Straas, which was seen by leading outdoor advertising companies JCDecaux ( and Clear Channel (CCO), the latter offering an undisclosed 'life-changing amount of money' despite yet being profitable. Cox, 50, worked as a senior executive for Clear Channel for about a year but soon shunned the corporate world after witnessing what he says was a lack of ambition, innovation or growth. Instead, he challenged the consolidated outdoor billboard market with his next agency venture in 2004. Ocean Outdoor aimed to find the best assets and attract a greater revenue profile. Read More: Meet the company that finds 'must-haves' to make everyday life easier He negotiated a deal with a central London landlord on one of the highest profile banner sites by Tottenham Court Road station before erecting the first digital panel in Liverpool. 'The business snowballed from there,' says Cox. In 2010, he was effectively sacked from his start-up after bringing a chairman on board he failed to bond with and the market having suffered from the 2008 financial crisis. 'I was trying to be all things to all people without acknowledging what I'm really good and bad at. So maybe they made the right decision,' recalls Cox. 'But the market did return quickly and that was a pretty brutal learning for me. I'm very thankful today that it did happen because I wouldn't have Wildstone without that period of negativity.' Wildstone, his third venture he co-founded with Patrick Fisher in 2010, set out as a consultancy business as it first extracted revenue from landlords and took commission before becoming the world's largest media infrastructure company. 'We became successful very quickly, however you sometimes underestimate your own ambition. I didn't have the ambition to take over the world, but soon it became apparent that actually that's what I wanted to do again. 'I'm fortunate enough to suffer from ADHD which allows me to compartmentalise things easily. My mother was also a huge guiding force for me in lots of ways because I watched someone bring up four kids with nothing. I can't sit at home doing nothing. I love putting a creative vision in place and seeing if it's achievable.' Wildstone has acquired, upgraded and digitised super-sized billboard posts into architecturally-led designs. The Hammersmith-based firm, which employs 130 staff globally, was sold to private equity in September 2022 for around £1bn, with Wildstone now boasting around 5,500 billboards across the UK, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as Australia. 'People often see the other side, that you've made some money and it must be easy for you,' admits Cox, who lives in the Cotswolds and is an avid collector of emerging artists. 'But they don't see the 10 years of not sleeping or the anxiety that goes with it. Having a business bank account with £50,000 in it and you've got a wage bill on Friday of £400,000; those kinds of elements get lost in history and it's really difficult. 'I wouldn't underestimate that to anyone starting a company. You're navigating politics, revenue, cash flow, a market you can't control. And all of that has to come together in a way that allows you to move forward and survive.' Read More: The life lesson behind 335-year-old funeral business When the business was sold 12 years after being founded, Wildstone's leadership ensured a 'lump sum cash' for every employee and further qualification for remaining at the company. Staff turnover remains small. Cox remained as global CEO after the sale, following several months of feeling 'deeply unhappy and depressed' after spending years scaling companies. Reinvigorated, he says that billboards today are 'still at the front of everything' when it comes to contextual advertising. 'It's the last broadcast medium that you can't swipe,' says Cox, who aims to grow Wildstone globally to the tune of a £15bn valuation. 'If it's on the side of a road you're driving down, you're going to see it. That for me makes it very attractive and we are becoming more and more valuable.' Helping a competitive market grow You do get slightly aggravated by the level of red tape, tax and constant desire by governmental bodies to take off you, which makes business harder as time goes on. In our industry, business rates are a prime example. Local authorities hate advertising, but they're happy to slap a 40-45p in the pound business levy on every advertising asset for doing nothing. Cash flow means you're very rarely positive for at least a couple of years on building one advertising panel. The benefit we have is that I am able to say that we own that infrastructure and I'll give you 100 billboards that are now digitised. I'll let you pay in arrears for the first quarter so you've got time to build up that cash flow to be able to pay. So actually our business makes the market wholly more competitive than it ever has been before. And it means that the stranglehold some of the bigger players have isn't necessarily as tight as they'd like it to be. We're able to push some of the smaller players up into the market. This is great because, after all, it's hard building a business. Read more: Meet the 'jokers from London' who sold 100,000 blocks of butter in first 10 weeks 'My sofa took six months to arrive — so I built a £20m business' 'I paid myself £4 an hour to get my Rollr deodorant off the ground'Sign in to access your portfolio
