RSBG Infrastructure Limited, a progressive and forward-thinking group that invests in brands, acquired The Yard Creative in April 2019. The acquisition sees The Yard Creative join forces with Leslie Jones Architecture in the group’s portfolio, and is a strategic move to bolster its already significant urban infrastructure development focus.
Established in 2006, award winning agency The Yard Creative is a leading design studio specialising in brand activation and experiential design, applying data driven research and customer insight to create brand strategy and design for destinations. They collaborate with high profile clients including Nike, Fortnum and Mason, Converse, John Lewis & Partners, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Max Factor and Bourjois.
In 2018, the group acquired Leslie Jones Architecture, a practice closely aligned with RSGB’s focus on urban renewal and the challenges to city and town centres.
The combination of leading brand design agency The Yard Creative, and urban regeneration and placemaking specialists Leslie Jones Architecture, will apply joint expertise to the challenges facing the retail sector. The two businesses have already been working together via joint venture vehicle, LEFTside RIGHTside, implementing a new proposition by applying a brand lens to cities, places and spaces, giving them an ‘ownable’ identity and purpose that local councils and property developers can leverage to ensure successful and long term return on investments.
James Cons, Managing Director, Leslie Jones Architecture said,
“We are pleased to welcome The Yard Creative. There are strong synergies between our two companies, and the opportunity for us to collaborate ever more closely with them has come at the critical time in the industry. With a rapidly changing and challenging retail environment, there is an urgent need to work differently, to repurpose our town centres, high streets and retail destinations and arrest their decline. A new approach is needed, and one that should be matched equally with the desire to reshape those places to meet the future needs of their local communities.”“Retail is going to see new models and methods of working, where collaboration drives innovation in design, new operations and formats. Alternative, retail, and alternatives to retail, will be a defining factor, as innovation develops across portfolios and town centres and new ownership structures release places from their downward spiral. Local authority and private ownership will need to work together to arrest the decay. LEFTside RIGHTside is an integral tool to addressing this decline. It is where logic meets creativity.”
Steve James-Royle of The Yard Creative said,
“It has been our ambition, since inception, that TYC should have a positive effect on the world around us. Our process using research and insight to create strategy and design, enables us to create evidential innovation; giving our clients competitive advantage. It is this unique process this has set us apart from the norm and we are immensely proud of our projects and clients alike. The joining of forces with Leslie Jones and the wider RSBG family will mean that we can continue achieving our ambitions on even bigger scale.”
The Yard Creative is currently ranked 2nd in the UK for market research and the 23rd highest-performing service provider for marketing and advertising in the UK by Clutch.co – the leading B2B ratings and reviews platform. The agency was also recently recognised for its creative projects leveraging IoT and retail technologies in the Top 101 disruptive companies making a positive difference in the world today.
Tushar Prabhu, CEO of RSBG Infrastructure said,
“Leslie Jones Architecture and The Yard Creative share many synergies and complement each other’s strengths. Now united within the RSBG Infrastructure group, these two companies form a unique, engaging and strong proposition that other masterplanning and placemaking businesses cannot match.”