Faulds goes into liquidation as financial woes take their toll

Faulds Advertising is to go into liquidation with the loss of an estimated 50 jobs at the Edinburgh-based agency.

The agency has been struggling for some months after losing significant accounts such as Kwik-Fit and Royal Bank of Scotland, and called in financial experts to assess its viability last week (MW September 25).

The acquisition of the failing London agency Malcolm Moore Deakin Hutson last year also added to the agency’s financial woes.

Faulds’ closure leaves the &£2.5m Auto Trader account homeless. Auto Trader group marketing director Matt Thompson confirms that he is talking to a shortlist of agencies and does not rule out the business staying in Scotland.

Faulds also had a place on the Scottish Executive roster alongside Barkers Communications and The Union. The Scottish Executive will call its statutory three-year review next summer and Faulds’ &£1.6m work on the Scottish Executive’s Healthy Living campaign has been handed to The Union until then.

Faulds was launched by Jim Faulds 18 years ago and was bought out by senior management in December 2001, led by Dennis Chester. David McGlone took the position of managing director in May this year, replacing Chester, who became chairman and chief executive.

A spokesman for the agency says: “We opened in London at the time of the economic downturn and this, coupled with the loss of a couple of key clients in Edinburgh, put too much strain on us. We therefore had no option but to close.”