Agency

LBG Media Acquires UK Social Agency Uncovered in £26M Deal

Published on June 22, 2026

LBG Media plc, the media company behind LADbible and SPORTbible, acquired 75% of UK social-first creative agency Uncovered Holdings Limited for an initial cash consideration of £26.8 million (~$35.4m). The deal includes a contingent earnout of up to £7.0 million tied to Uncovered’s performance in calendar years 2026 and 2027.

Under the transaction terms, LBG Media and the founders agreed to put and call options for the remaining 25% stake, with an exercise price based on a nine-times multiple of Uncovered’s adjusted EBITDA across calendar years 2028 through 2030. LBG Media funded the acquisition through approximately £17 million drawn from a new £50 million revolving credit facility with HSBC UK Bank and approximately £10 million from existing cash reserves.

Uncovered co-founders Chris Cookson (CEO) and Catherine Orr (CCO) will remain with the business and retain a minority shareholding. The agency will continue to operate under its own brand.

About Uncovered

Founded in London in 2017, Uncovered specializes in end-to-end social media strategy, creative development, production, creator partnerships, and paid media across organic, paid, and creator social channels. The agency employs approximately 120 people and is recognized as the EU’s number one TikTok partner. Campaign UK named it “Social Media Agency of the Year” in 2025.

For the year ended December 31, 2025, Uncovered generated £10.2 million in revenue and £2.7 million in adjusted EBITDA, representing a margin of approximately 26%. Revenue grew more than 80% year-on-year in 2025. The agency projects at least 50% revenue growth for calendar year 2026 while maintaining similar EBITDA margins. Its retained client roster includes Tesco, KFC, Nationwide, Rightmove, Stellantis, and Taco Bell, among others.

Strategic Rationale

LBG Media said the acquisition supports its strategy to expand direct revenue through brand partnerships and reduce dependence on platform-driven indirect revenues. LBG Media’s portfolio, including LADbible, SPORTbible, and Betches, collectively reaches approximately half a billion social followers.

The deal follows a period of financial pressure on LBG Media’s indirect revenue business. For the six months ending March 31, the company reported a 41% drop in indirect revenues, which include earnings from its own websites and social media revenue-sharing agreements, driven by Facebook’s decision to deprioritize news links in its algorithm and the growing adoption of AI-powered search tools such as Google AI Overviews, which reduce click-throughs to publisher websites. Direct revenues nearly doubled to £37.6 million during the same period.

The company said the combined business would create a content studio capable of delivering campaigns at scale, including larger briefs and longer-term recurring partnerships. LBG Media also said it plans to use its U.S. presence and Betches client relationships to accelerate Uncovered’s recently launched U.S. operations. The agency brings VFX and AI-enabled creative workflows alongside multi-year client contracts that LBG Media said provide predictable, recurring revenue.

“At LBG Media, we’ve always believed the future belongs to businesses that understand audiences and culture,” LBG Media CEO Solly Solomou said. “By combining their creative expertise with our audience insight, digital publishing capabilities, and global reach, we’re creating an even stronger proposition for the world’s biggest brands looking to earn attention, build cultural relevance with youth audiences, and win in a social-first world.”

“Joining LBG Media allows us to accelerate that mission in the UK and U.S. with the backing of one of the world’s leading social entertainment companies and access to one of the most engaged social audiences on the planet,” Cookson said.

“We see enormous opportunities ahead for our clients, people, and partners as we combine our creative expertise with LBG Media’s scale, insight, and cultural influence,” Orr said.

The new HSBC facility carries a three-year term expiring June 2029. It comprises a £35 million revolving credit facility and up to £15 million in additional capacity, subject to lender consent. LBG Media said the facility is intended to support the group’s acquisition pipeline and enhance shareholder returns.