CHS

What CHS does

CHS (Clive Holmes Limited) is a full-service integrated creative agency headquartered in Christchurch, Dorset, United Kingdom, founded in 1973 and operating with 101–250 employees across the UK and a New York City office opened in January 2023. The agency delivers brand strategy, advertising, digital experience, communications, and content production services to enterprise clients, with an in-house film studio and a Virtual Production Studio built around LED backdrops that supports broadcast-grade video and virtual production work. Its named client base spans financial services (HSBC, Allianz, Mastercard), retail (Currys, B&Q, Lakeland, Kingfisher), insurance (LV=, Petplan), food and beverage (Müller), utilities (National Grid), and consumer brands (Kenwood), supplemented in 2023–2024 by new wins in construction-adjacent fleet (WEX), bathroom retail (Drench), and functional wellness (aguulp).

The business model is a traditional agency revenue stack of retainers, project fees, and content/production charges, augmented by an emerging AI-enabled service layer covering content generation and personalization. The agency is founder/management-owned with no disclosed private equity or venture capital investment, which is consistent with its self-funded international expansion and the launch of new capabilities such as the Virtual Production Studio. Recognition includes Digiday, Drum DADI, CIM, and Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year awards, and a stated 9.2/10 client satisfaction score. In January 2024 CHS was awarded Crown Commercial Supplier status, giving it accredited access to UK central government and public-sector creative contracts.

Operationally, the agency competes on the basis of long-standing client relationships, multi-disciplinary creative and production capacity under one roof, and sector depth in financial services and retail. The combination of a 50-plus-year operating history, an enterprise client roster, a UK/US geographic footprint, and a regulated UK government supply channel positions CHS as an upper-mid-market independent, with growth signaled across geography, verticals, and product surface rather than through external capital events.

Name

CHS

Legal name

Clive Holmes Limited

Website

https://chs.agency

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CHS is a UK-founded, full-service integrated creative agency delivering branding, advertising, digital, communications, and content production to enterprise clients in financial services, retail, insurance, and food and beverage, with offices in the UK and New York.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Christchurch

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Project-based and retainer-based creative services including branding, advertising, digital marketing, content creation, and communications. Revenue generated through custom campaign development, production fees, and ongoing agency retainers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CHS is an independent integrated creative agency delivering brand development, advertising, digital marketing, communications planning, and content production services to enterprise and mid-market clients. Its offering spans brand strategy, integrated campaigns, performance marketing, SEO, social media, web development, and full-service content production through in-house film, photography, and virtual production studios.

Product overview

CHS is a full-service independent integrated creative agency offering a comprehensive suite of marketing and creative services. The agency operates as a unified service offering rather than a modular platform, providing Brand Services (brand development, strategy, and design), Advertising Services (integrated campaigns, DRTV, performance marketing, outdoor media, creative, digital acquisition), Digital & Technology Services (AI, UX/UI design, SEO, web development including WordPress), Communications Services (planning, CRM, email frameworks), and Content Production (film studio, virtual production with LED walls, video, photography, CGI/AR/VR/3D, catalogue production). The agency has particular specialisms in financial services, retail, insurance, tourism, healthcare, food & beverage, and SaaS sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Services Comprehensive branding solutions covering brand development, brand strategy, and brand design for heritage brands and startups.
• Advertising Services Full-service advertising including integrated campaigns, DRTV, performance marketing, outdoor media, creative, and digital acquisition for enterprise clients.
• Digital and Technology Services Digital services including AI, UX design, UI design, SEO, and web development (including WordPress) for brand clients.
• Communications Services Strategic communications planning, CRM integration, and email design frameworks for brand clients.
• Content Production Content creation including film production, virtual production, video production, photography, CGI/AR/VR/3D, and catalogue production for brand and campaign clients.
• Film Studio In-house content studio in Bournemouth providing film production facilities with virtual production capabilities using LED backgrounds for on-set virtual production.
• Virtual Production Studio State-of-the-art LED virtual production set enabling real-time environment creation, lighting control, and camera synchronisation for film and photography clients.
• Performance Marketing Data-driven performance marketing campaigns with measurable ROI for enterprise clients.
• Social Media Services Social media advertising and management across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter) for enterprise clients.
• SEO Services Search engine optimisation including keyword research, on-page SEO, technical SEO, content strategy, and link building for enterprise clients.
• WordPress Development Custom WordPress themes, plugin development, responsive web design, e-commerce solutions, and website maintenance for brand clients.
• AI Services AI-powered marketing solutions for content generation, personalisation, and campaign automation for enterprise clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.7 million video views for HSBC 'It's Payback Time' campaign
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments14 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• North American Market ExpansioncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 January 2023CHS established formal presence in North America with New York City headquarters to serve US clients, bringing UK creative expertise to American financial services and enterprise market.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• DDB UK: DDB UK is the Omnicom-owned creative agency offering integrated advertising and brand services. It overlaps directly with CHS's service portfolio but operates with the scale, data, and media resources of the broader DDB Worldwide network.
• McCann London: McCann London is the UK office of IPG-owned McCann Worldgroup. It offers the full suite of integrated creative, advertising, and content services that CHS provides, but with the resources of a global holding company and broader media/data capabilities.
• Ogilvy UK: Ogilvy UK is the WPP-owned creative network offering brand, advertising, content, and PR services. It directly overlaps with CHS's integrated creative offering, with significantly larger scale, global reach, and holding-company data/tech infrastructure.
• Havas London: Havas London is part of Havas Creative Network, offering integrated creative, media, and content services. It is comparable to CHS in offering but materially larger and backed by the Havas group's media and data capabilities.
• Saatchi & Saatchi: Saatchi & Saatchi is the Publicis-owned UK creative network offering advertising, brand, and content services. It competes with CHS on UK enterprise AOR briefs and is materially larger, with global holding-company backing.

Direct peers

• St. Luke's: St. Luke's is an independent London creative agency offering integrated advertising and communications services. Like CHS, it is independent, full-service, and pitches for mid-to-large UK brand accounts.
• Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH): BBH is a long-established London creative agency known for integrated advertising and brand work. It directly competes with CHS for UK brand and integrated campaign briefs, and shares a similar full-service, creative-led positioning.
• Wieden+Kennedy London: Wieden+Kennedy London is the London outpost of the independent global creative network Wieden+Kennedy. It competes with CHS for high-profile brand and integrated campaign work, sharing an independent creative-led model with strong brand-building credentials.
• The&Partnership (now M+C Saatchi): The&Partnership was an independent integrated creative and media agency of similar mid-size scale, comparable to CHS in offering brand, advertising, and content production services; now operating within the M+C Saatchi group but historically a direct peer.
• Mother: Mother is an independent London-based creative agency of comparable size, offering brand, advertising, and content services. It is the closest structural analogue to CHS — independent, mid-size, full-service integrated creative — and competes head-to-head for UK enterprise AOR briefs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chsagency
• Facebookfacebook.com/chsagency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chs-creative
• Instagraminstagram.com/chsagency/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CHS