Lange announces staff empowerment deal

And account director Shelly Young, who has been a core member of the Lange team for the past 12 years, has become the single largest previously disadvantaged shareholder with an effective 26,1% of the shares in issue.

Announcing the empowerment deal, Ruth Golembo, Lange MD said the transaction had changed the 'face and pace' of the company and had created a huge amount of new energy and excitement among staff: "It's difficult for small and medium sized companies to diversify ownership, which is why I think most of the smaller PR and advertising agencies have not been able to transform themselves.

"Our company - which has just been named the best PR consultancy - in an independent survey of 6 600 government and business leaders - has always been very democratically run and this latest move in effectively changing shareholding makes us even more representative and evenly structured."

The staff share trust was facilitated by a leveraged staff buy-out, through which the company is able to provide the debt for staff to buy shares.

Clients include Bell's Whiskey, BP Africa, Levi's, Santam, BoE Private Clients, Coca Cola Southern and East Africa for whom it handles adult beverages Valpre and Bon Aqua and brandhouse for whom it handles various consumer and corporate PR initiatives including brand building for Johnnie Walker, Captain Morgan Black Label and Spiced Gold, Guinness and its single malt whiskeys.

"We're advocates of the power of PR in creating and providing significant brand and corporate advantage. It's the age of openness, transparency and disclosure. Public Relations should be the cornerstone of any brand plan," Golembo says.