Dragons’ Den star sells his digital ads agency in £8million deal

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Social Chain, online agency founded by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett, to be sold in deal worth at least £7.7 million

Social Chain, an online agency founded by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett, is being sold in a deal worth at least £7.7 million.

Brave Bison, a social and digital media group, said yesterday it had struck a deal to buy the brand.

Bartlett, who also runs the Diary Of A CEO podcast, founded the company in 2014. The media agency partners with brands such as Amazon, TikTok, KFC and Apple Beats to create social media ad campaigns and run influencer marketing services.

Success: Social Chain is an online agency founded by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett

It has 122 employees, with offices in Manchester, New York and London. Bartlett stepped down as CEO in 2020, but it is unknown if he retained a stake and would thus benefit financially from the sale.

Social Chain was a subsidiary of the listed German e-commerce operation The Social Chain AG. Brave Bison said the agency will help it increase its social media advertising revenue sevenfold to £15m for the year. It said it will pay an initial fee of £7.7m, but this could rise if Social Chain meets profit targets.