Blis secures investment from LDC to accelerate global expansion

Blis will fast-track its opportunity to drive mass adoption of its privacy-first advertising technology

LONDON, June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blis, the audience-first platform that doesn't rely on personal data, today announced that LDC, the UK's leading mid-market private equity firm, has entered into an agreement to make a significant investment in the company. LDC's investment will back the existing management team to further grow and expand the global business, enabling Blis to double its headcount in the next few years.

As it marks 18 years in business, Blis has spent almost two decades shaping the role of location in the evolving programmatic landscape. Blis has invested heavily in its privacy-first technology for many years, expanding its solutions beyond location and launching its planning tool, Audience Explorer, in early 2021. This future-proofed approach enables Blis to deliver integrated planning and buying solutions via the Blis Platform to deliver highly accurate, targeted campaigns for some of the world's biggest brands, through personalised and scalable targeting, without reliance on personal data.

Today, some of the world's leading global brands and their media agencies use Blis' solutions to tackle challenges in a cookieless era. Blis' unique approach provides personalised targeting and performance without relying on personal data, serving up relevant ads to the most high-value, addressable audiences across any channel. Ahead of impending industry changes, Blis is not only delivering privacy-first targeting, but it is also providing the most holistic understanding of customers by combining consented location data with other rich, powerful data signals, helping clients to prepare today for the increasing lack of intent data.

"The investment from LDC marks a hugely exciting moment for Blis," said Greg Isbister, CEO of Blis. "I'm proud of everything we achieved in the past 18 years, and I'm looking forward to accelerating our growth plans in partnership with LDC. We have an incredibly dedicated and passionate team focused on the company's growth and ready to help the industry move forward in the right direction. LDC believes in our promise as the audience-first platform that doesn't rely on personal data, and their unparalleled expertise will, undoubtedly, help Blis to continue expanding globally."

LDC's John Green and David Andrews will join the board alongside Blis CEO Greg Isbister, CFO Parm Dhami industry heavy-weight John Farrell, who joins Blis as Non-Executive Chair. With more than 25 years' experience, Farrell has led some of the world's biggest marketing services brands and was the former president and CEO of Publicis Group's specialised agencies and marketing services arm.

LDC Investment Director John Green, said: "Blis' growth, especially over the past couple of challenging years, is a testament to the strength of the offering and the ambition of the team. Blis has created a leading tech business that allows the advertising industry to move forward in a more transparent and effective way. The management team, led by CEO Greg Isbister, now has the necessary support to further grow the business. We can see a real opportunity to support the growth of Blis across the globe, and we're excited to work in partnership to achieve great success and help advertisers deliver scale and results in a privacy-centric world."

About Blis

Blis is the audience-first platform that doesn't rely on personal data. We're an integrated planning and buying platform that delivers scaled, relevant and high-performing audiences, helping the world's largest brands and media agencies achieve their goals.

Over the past 18 years, Blis has built its reputation on delivering award-winning location-powered advertising solutions. In today's consumer-centric landscape, Blis is transforming the role of location data by combining it with a broad range of rich and powerful datasets to give our clients the deepest audience understanding available. Our unique approach to integrated planning and buying provides personalised targeting and performance without reliance on personal data. We serve relevant ads to the highest-value addressable audiences across any channel and deliver our clients' campaign outcomes every time, from brand awareness and engagement through to store/site visits and sales.

Established in the UK in 2004, Blis now operates in more than 40 offices across five continents. Working with the world's largest and most customer-driven companies across all verticals including Unilever, Samsung, McDonald's, HSBC, Mercedes Benz and Peugeot, as well as every major media agency.

To learn more, visit blis.com.

About LDC

1. LDC is the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
2. LDC has committed to invest in at least 100 mid-market businesses over the next five years.
3. LDC has a portfolio of 90 businesses across the UK, across a broad range of sectors including Construction & Property, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials, Retail & Consumer, TMT, Travel & Leisure and Support Services.
4. LDC has a nationwide network of regional offices to provide a local presence to the businesses and communities it supports.

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SOURCE Blis