Full-service event company Creation is celebrating monumental success having ranked 29th in The Sunday Times 100 following a record-breaking financial year and staggering growth. The Sunday Times 100 takes on the baton from the Sunday Times Fast Track 100, which, for 24 years, celebrated the success of Britain’s leading entrepreneurs. Creation co-founder Tom Whittle commented, “We are thrilled to have earned the growth that we have. We were fortunate that we weren’t a huge company at the start of the pandemic as this allowed us to look inward and reassess how we can most effectively run our business, not only for us but also for our clients. We also managed to remain debt-free throughout the disruption which allowed us to be more dynamic. Remaining as open as possible seemed like a gamble at the time but we have come out of the abnormal period with many new opportunities ahead of us.”
Creation services brands, agencies and events by creating bold and innovative experiences. It contributes to over 1000 projects a year and works with some of the biggest brands in the world providing design, fabrication, technical production, storage, logistics and brand asset management services. Creation’s core services are its bespoke design and fabrication divisions and a unique subscription-based storage and asset management model with over 4000 pallets of client assets currently under management across several logistically significant UK sites. Current clients include ASOS, Red Bull, White Claw, Live Nation, Bacardi Group, Cinch, JD Sports, Klarna, Heineken, Fever-Tree, Nothing.tech and 10-minute delivery app, Gorillas.
Creation was founded in 2017 by Tom Whittle and Tom Elkington, both serial entrepreneurs. Whittle, who handles the client, business development and brand asset management side of the business, has successfully built, managed and sold various companies over his career, including spells in nightlife, online retail and technology before turning to the live events and experiential marketing sector. Elkington, who handles the design, fabrication and live events side of the company, began his career working in corporate property for a Fortune 500 company before pursuing his passion by founding two globally renowned music festivals, Gottwood and Houghton, where he met Whittle.
Typically working with brand marketing teams, Creation’s full-service offering works in a traditional manner as well as via a new online portal where clients create events from their own assets supported by Creation’s supplementary equipment. Elkington said, “What sets Creation apart from our competitors is that we store, tour and manage brand assets, as well as design and build them – it’s a full circle service. We focus on re-use and enable large corporate teams to really make a change and also save on budget. During the pandemic, we built our online client portal, shaped around an online shopping experience, to give clients real-time access to their assets under Creation management, as well as the ability for clients to independently add Creation’s supplementary services to their opportunities. We allow clients to really sweat their assets in a quick and modern manner.”
For 2021, Creation saw a staggering 98.49% increase in turnover with revenue hitting £6.3 million. The privately owned, debt-free and wholly independent company now forecasts £12 million in 2022. What was previously a team of four, is now close to 50 employees across offices and warehouses in Shrewsbury, London, Manchester and Glasgow. Key hires have included the ex-head of on-premise marketing from Red Bull, the ex-international festivals manager from Red Bull and a Financial Director with senior experience at McDonald’s, Sky and CNN. Creation continues to forge ahead with its recruitment drive, with exciting opportunities across all its divisions in 2022. Through organic growth and acquisition, Creation has been able to bring previously out-sourced services in-house, including fabrication of brand assets and provision of technical production services.
Creation has recently invested in a modern fabrication workshop, which includes CNC machining technology, welding equipment and a design suite. Looking forward, the senior team at Creation is pursuing further organic growth with their exemplary client base, with a focus on the unique subscription-based storage and asset management services and the design and fabrication division.
