French holding company Havas is acquiring a majority stake (51%) in London agency Uncommon Creative Studio—an investment that’s expected to help Uncommon expand globally, including opening a New York office in the near future.

The acquisition price was not announced, but a Havas rep told Ad Age the deal was worth “several tens of millions” of pounds—and that it valued Uncommon at more than £100 million (about $129 million) considering its projected growth plans.

A highly regarded creative boutique founded in 2017 by ex-Grey London executives Natalie Graeme, Lucy Jameson and Nils Leonard, Uncommon will keep its brand and creative vision. Both sides said it will also retain the freedom to choose clients and staff, while harnessing the global capabilities of Havas and its parent company Vivendi to enter new markets and disciplines.

Graeme, Jameson and Leonard retain 49% of Uncommon. The agency immediately becomes one of the shining stars creatively within the Havas network, which also includes Arnold, BETC, Buzzman, Camp+King and several Havas-branded offices across North America.

Uncommon’s client list includes British Airways (for which it won a Grand Prix in Outdoor at the Cannes Lions Festival this year), Nike Jordan, ITV, the World Wildlife Fund, B&Q, H&M and Formula E. It’s also expanded lately beyond traditional advertising, creating a Nick Cave documentary film and founding its own direct-to-consumer sexual wellness brand.

Following a 91% revenue increase and a 62% rise in profit in 2022, Uncommon was named Ad Age’s International Agency of the Year at this year’s A-List Awards. Half of its 2022 revenue came from non-U.K. clients, including Beats by Dr. Dre, Pinterest and Nike Jordan.

Yannick Bolloré, chairman and CEO of Havas and chairman of Vivendi, called Uncommon a “once-in-a-decade company” that will bring “new energy, creativity and audiences” to Havas. He added: “We share a vision: with every project, Uncommon and Havas remind the world that creativity is, and always has been, the difference.”

Donna Murphy, global CEO of Havas Creative and Havas Health & You, said the deal creates a “truly unique and powerful offering ... that will accelerate Uncommon’s ambitions and expand the world-class offering of Havas.” 

Graeme, Jameson and Leonard said the deal will help them fulfill their global ambitions for Uncommon and connect them with Vivendi’s other creative holdings, such as Canal+, Universal Music Group and Gameloft, to drive creativity across a broader canvas.

“Havas, along with its sister companies in Vivendi, offer Uncommon a way to accelerate into the spaces where we have already made headway,” said Graeme. “Whether that’s into the entertainment world—taking what we started with our Nick Cave documentary—or our design practice, gaming or other geographies, this partnership will open doors globally for Uncommon.”

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“From the first minute we met Donna and Yannick, we recognized our shared values—the focus on building meaningful brands, the power of creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit to do things differently,” said Jameson.

Leonard called it a “different” kind of acquisition—one based on “a freedom to make decisions, a power to break down barriers and the removal of dependency to make good things happen.”