Lastminute calls review of £5m creative account

Lastminute.com is understood to be reviewing its creative account, worth more than £5m.

The company, launched in Europe in 1998 by co-founders Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane Fox, is understood to have contacted the Advertising Agency Roster (AAR) about the review.

Incumbent M&C Saatchi is thought to be repitching for the account. No one at the agency, which was appointed in July last year, was available for comment.

New PHD, which picked up Lastminute’s media buying and planning in February, is believed to be unaffected.

Lastminute is thought to be keen to change the perception that it is solely a cheap travel booking service. The website also offers consumers restaurant reservations, music and theatre tickets and gifts at short notice.

The website was launched in Europe in autumn 1998, targeting “cash-rich, time-poor” professionals, aged 25 to 45.

Millions of pounds were wiped off Lastminute’s share value after the company floated in March just before a downturn in Internet stocks.