THIS IS AN ADVERTISING PROMOTION
Brave Bison (BBSN:AIM) is a social and digital advertising company, headquartered in London with additional offices in Singapore and Eastern Europe.
Brave Bison is unique in that it is both a digital media owner, as well as a digital media agency. The company owns and operates its own channels, and the communities attached to them, as well as offering clients a suite of advertising services to help reach digital audiences.
Brave Bison has two core lines of business. Firstly, the publishing of content on social media channels to generate advertising revenue. Brave Bison operates over 650 channels including PGA Tour and US Open on YouTube, Cooking Wild and DIY & Crafts on Facebook and Slick and VSatisfying on Snapchat. The amount of revenue generated from a channel depends on how many people watch the content, who these people are and where they are based.
The second line of business involves the execution of social and digital advertising campaigns for global, blue-chip brands such as Panasonic, New Balance, Primark, Vodafone and Samsung. Key advertising channels include Paid Search (on advertising platforms such as Google and Amazon), Paid Social (on advertising platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok), Influencer Marketing and eCommerce Technology (on commerce platforms such as SAP, Salesforce, Bigcommerce). These advertising services generate fee-based income, typically from clients retained for 12 months or more.
TURNAROUND STORY
Brave Bison is run by Oli and Theo Green, two brothers who have been building a stake in the business since 2019. Oli and Theo, who act as executive chairman and chief growth officer, respectively, invested £1 million in the recent fundraising and their shareholding now totals just over 22%. Oli and Theo did not take salaries in 2020.
The brothers took executive roles in April 2020 and, alongside newly appointed CFO Philippa Norridge, set about transforming both the earnings and growth profile of the business. The business was repositioned around its fastest growing business lines such as Influencer Marketing and Snapchat Publishing, and Brave Bison acquired The Hook, a leading youth entertainment brand, out of administration.
By the second half of 2020 revenue had returned to growth and Brave Bison finished 2020 with a small adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) profit of £0.1 million (2019: -£0.4 million).
Earnings growth accelerated further in 2021, when Brave Bison reported H1 2021 adjusted EBITDA of £0.5 million (H1 2020: -£0.4 million) and profit before tax and acquisition costs of £0.4 million (H1 2020: -£1.4 million), as well as a strong cash balance of £3.0million (H1 2020: £2.1 million).
In addition to strong top and bottom line growth, Brave Bison has been growing its cash position. In H1 2021, Brave Bison announced £3.0 million of gross cash and £2.9 million of net cash, a substantial increase from the prior year.
BRAVE BISON DOUBLED REVENUE THROUGH GREENLIGHT ACQUISITION
Brave Bison’s much improved earnings profile allowed the Company to acquire digital advertising and ecommerce company Greenlight in September 2021. The Company acquired the business for a total consideration of £6.75 million, funded partly through an oversubscribed £6.2 million share placing to existing and new investors, including institutions Lombard Odier, CIP Merchant Capital and Premier Miton.
The acquisition was transformational for Brave Bison, doubling the company’s 2020 pro-forma revenues to £28.8 million and significantly enhancing pro-forma EBITDA. Furthermore, Brave Bison increased its exposure to fast-growing digital advertising services such as Paid & Organic Media and eCommerce Technology.
Brave Bison and Greenlight will be fully integrated and there are a number of synergies expected between the two businesses. Brave Bison has a lease expiry in H2 2021 and there are multiple cross-selling opportunities, for both new services and new markets.
FUTURE GROWTH & ACQUISITIONS
Brave Bison is well placed within the digital advertising market to capitalise on future growth within the industry, and the company’s unique position as both agency partner to brands and social publisher for platforms creates a distinct advantage.
Brave Bison is actively investing in new advertising capabilities, such as Influencer Marketing and Social Media Management, based on demand from existing and new clients. Furthermore, the Company is building reach and audience affinity in its existing network of channels, as well as adding new channels in growth verticals such as sports and music. As the size of the media network grows, so does its attractiveness to brand advertisers working with Brave Bison as an agency partner.
Finally, Brave Bison continues to look for accretive and strategic acquisitions that will give the company a head-start in key markets, as well as increasing scale and improving margins.
DISCLAIMER: This article was written by Brave Bison and published by Shares under a commercial agreement. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell the shares. The article originally appeared in Shares’ Spotlight report on 25 November 2021.
