Backroom

What Backroom does

The Backroom Agency is a Sheffield-based full-service creative agency founded in 2016 by Andrew Brown (Client Director) and Stephen Delaney (Creative Director), with fellow director Chris Hudson MBE. It operates as The Backroom Agency Ltd, a privately held UK company with no external funding. The agency delivers branding, web design and development (primarily on WordPress), photography, video production, animation, copywriting, print management, marketing strategy, PR, SEO, managed WordPress hosting, and brand/website training workshops. Service delivery is supported by two in-house photographic studios located at 20-22 Burton Road in Sheffield's Kelham Island creative district. The agency's customer base spans approximately a dozen named enterprise and mid-market clients across manufacturing (ICD Europe, British Silverware, Lomas Engineering, Macalloy, CBE+, Wentworth Pewter, Chimo Sheffield), textiles (A W Hainsworth), hospitality (Roadchef), wholesale distribution (Pricecheck), medical devices (Granton Medical), electrical services (Elecomm), and food and beverage (Bakery79, Wade Supplements). It also serves as the lead design agency for the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and Mayoral Combined Authority. The business operates primarily in the UK with a regional focus on the Sheffield City Region, generating revenue through project-based fixed fees, hourly engagements, and a modest monthly WordPress hosting subscription line. Go-to-market is sales-led, combining referral/word-of-mouth, direct client engagement, and a light content marketing presence via website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and a news/blog channel.

Name

Backroom

Legal name

The Backroom Agency Ltd

Website

https://thebackroom.agency

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Backroom Agency is a Sheffield-based, founder-owned full-service creative agency offering branding, WordPress web design, photography, video, animation, marketing, PR and SEO to enterprise and mid-market UK clients, primarily in manufacturing, textiles and hospitality.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Photography Studios, Portrait (541921)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Production (Video, Design, Copy, Studio) (BPAFAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)

Keywords

• Creative agency services
• Branding and design
• Web design
• Digital marketing
• Video production

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheffield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Creative and Design Services: Project-based professional services including branding, web design and development, photography, video production, animation, copywriting, print management, marketing strategy, PR and SEO. Revenue generated through fixed project fees and hourly engagements for ongoing work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Backroom Agency is a full-service creative agency that designs brands, builds websites, produces photography and video, and delivers ongoing marketing, PR, SEO, WordPress hosting, and training to business clients. It sells bundled creative and digital services on a project and retainer basis from its Sheffield studio.

Product overview

The Backroom Agency is a full-service creative agency offering a comprehensive suite of design and marketing services. Their portfolio includes Brand Development, Digital/Web Design & Development, Photography (with two fully-equipped studios), Video Production, Animation, Print Management, WordPress Hosting, Training, Copywriting, and Marketing/PR/SEO services. The agency positions itself as a single point of contact for all creative needs, allowing clients to access multiple service categories through one partnership rather than managing multiple agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branding Brand strategy and visual identity design services for businesses, including brand development and design systems. Targeted at UK businesses needing to establish or refresh their brand.
• Web Design Design and build of business websites, primarily on the WordPress platform. Targeted at UK SMEs needing a new site or a redesign.
• Photography Commercial photography services for businesses, used for marketing, brand, and website assets.
• Video Production Video production services for businesses, supporting marketing, brand, and digital communications.
• Animation Animation services for businesses, supporting brand storytelling, explainer content, and digital marketing.
• Copywriting Copywriting services for businesses, producing marketing, website, and brand copy.
• Print Management Print management services for businesses, coordinating the production of printed brand and marketing materials.
• Marketing Marketing services for businesses, including campaign planning and execution across digital and offline channels.
• Public Relations (PR) Public relations services for businesses, supporting earned media and brand communications.
• SEO Search engine optimisation services aimed at improving organic search visibility and traffic for business clients.
• WordPress Hosting Managed hosting service for WordPress websites, offered as an ongoing service to clients whose sites the agency has built.
• Training Training services for business clients, covering the use and management of digital and creative assets delivered by the agency.

Named customers14 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Nixon Design: UK creative agency delivering branding, web design, and digital marketing services to SMEs and enterprise clients. Closely comparable service mix, customer segment, and project-based delivery model to Backroom.
• MadeByShape: Manchester-based full-service creative agency offering branding, web design, and digital services to B2B and B2C clients. Directly comparable as a UK regional full-service creative shop targeting enterprise and mid-market clients with similar integrated offerings.
• Thoughtful Creative: UK creative agency delivering brand, web design, photography, and content services to B2B clients. Comparable boutique full-service model, similar target segments, and integrated creative delivery.
• Reform Creative: UK full-service creative agency offering brand strategy, web design, content creation, and digital marketing. Comparable in scope (branding through to web), target market, and small-team delivery model.
• WAA (We Are Atelier): UK creative agency offering brand strategy, design, and digital services to enterprise clients. Comparable full-service model, B2B client base, and integrated creative delivery similar to Backroom.

Regional players

• Jaywing: Sheffield-headquartered digital marketing and data agency with brand, web, and creative services. Comparable as a Sheffield-based competitor competing for similar regional enterprise clients, though Jaywing is larger and more data-led.
• Hallam Internet: Nottingham-based multi-award-winning digital marketing agency offering SEO, web design, content, and PR. Comparable UK regional full-service digital/creative agency with similar SME and mid-market client focus.
• Ascend Studio: UK creative studio specialising in branding and web design for SMEs. Comparable regional UK creative offering targeting similar B2B and manufacturing clients, though typically smaller in scope.

Broad incumbents

• McCann UK: London-headquartered global advertising agency network offering brand, creative, digital, and PR services. Overlaps with Backroom's full-service creative offering but operates at significantly larger scale with broader portfolio.
• Impression: Leeds-based digital performance agency offering SEO, web, content, and PR services. Operates in overlapping UK mid-market/enterprise creative and digital space but with stronger specialisation in performance marketing than Backroom.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-backroom-agency
• Instagraminstagram.com/backroomagency
• Xx.com/hellobackroom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Backroom