2026 Portfolio Update

The first six months of 2026 have been a period of real momentum across the GCP portfolio. From landmark client wins and bold international expansion to senior leadership hires and recognition at the highest levels of each industry, the businesses we partner with have been doing what they do best, scaling and delivering results for their clients.

Across the portfolio, the themes of this year so far tell a consistent story: AI is moving from experimentation to genuine commercial impact; ambitious businesses are investing in the talent and structure needed to support the next phase of scale; and the quality of work is earning recognition on stages that matter. Here is a snapshot of the highlights.

CloudRock

• Announced the acquisition of SuccessDay — a Netherlands-based HRIT and Finance advisory partner with presence across Benelux, DACH, and the Nordics — creating one of Europe’s largest independent HR and Finance transformation consultancies.
• Named in the Financial Times FT 1000: Europe’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2026 for the third consecutive year, reflecting sustained commercial momentum across the business.
• Awarded Gold-level recognition in Consultancy.uk’s Top HR Consulting Firms in the UK 2026 ranking, assessed on customer and consultant feedback and an independent capability review.

Coolr

• Appointed as Panasonic Consumer’s social agency for Europe — a major account win covering UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Poland, cementing Coolr’s position as a go-to social partner for major global consumer brands.
• Hosted a high-profile Coolr Sessions event exploring how brands can win off the pitch at the FIFA World Cup — bringing together senior voices from sport, media, and brand to tackle one of the biggest social media opportunities of 2026.
• Moved into a new home on Old Street, taking an entire floor in the Bowery Building and bringing the whole team back together on one floor for the first time in two years — a reflection of the agency’s pace of growth.

Indigo

• Selected by Trans Pacific Networks to provide NOC services and service management across TPN’s trans-Pacific fibre-optic cable portfolio, including the Echo cable system connecting Singapore, Indonesia, Guam, and the US.
• Signed a Heads of Terms agreement with Aqua Comms to explore the acquisition of its Newcastle-based Network Operations Centre, which would add deep subsea cable expertise to Indigo’s existing operations.
• Appointed Sue Carruthers as Chief People Officer — an experienced people leader with a track record in people strategy, operational excellence, and supporting global businesses growing at pace.

Electric Theatre Collective

• Reflected on the studio’s first full year in New York in a feature piece in Shots magazine, sharing lessons from delivering six Super Bowl spots and building a US client base from scratch.
• Strengthened its leadership with three key hires: Katie Wood as Executive Producer (Havas), and Will Denning and James Britton as Creative Director and Strategy Director, from FutureDeluxe and Buck respectively — deepening ETC’s offer as a plug-in design partner for brands, in-house teams, and agency partners.
• Named VFX/Production Company of the Year at the AdAge Creativity Awards.

Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR)

• Delivered the evolution of the entire KFC brand experience, earning coverage across CNBC and the Wall Street Journal — the Bucket-verse campaign has generated 1.1 billion impressions and counting.
• Global Chief Creative Officer Tosh Hall presented at OFFF Barcelona 2026, sharing JKR’s 10 principles for creative success alongside work from across the agency’s global portfolio.
• Scooped 33 award wins and shortlists across Creative Review, Clio Awards, ADC, Dieline, and D&AD — including Gold at One Show.

Nurtur

• Launched a next-generation email marketing platform purpose-built for estate agents, featuring AI-assisted campaign creation, a redesigned editor, and an intelligent ROI dashboard capable of managing multi-branch and multi-brand campaigns.
• Strengthened its customer management capability with three senior leadership appointments across the function: a Customer Success Director, a Head of Customer Success, and a Head of Onboarding, Learning and Development, reinforcing the business’s commitment to delivering an exceptional customer experience at every stage of the journey.

Optima Partners

• Named both an Emerging Star and Best-Performing Company in IT Consulting at the Megabuyte Emerging Stars Awards 2026.
• Published thought leadership on why AI initiatives fail due to organisational design rather than model quality — making the case for a more rigorous approach to implementation.
• Appointed Christopher Dean as Chairman — bringing over 40 years of IT consulting experience, including Global Consulting CEO at Credera, to support the business as it enters its next phase of growth.

Plenitude Consulting

• CEO Louise Brett named to the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Powerlist Standout 45, in recognition of her leadership in responsible financial innovation across economic crime and AI.
• Made its debut at the Innovate Finance Global Summit as an official member, with Brett speaking on FinTech as a Force Multiplier for National Security.
• Co-authored a Research Note with the FCA following the completion of the Synthetic Data and Anti-Money Laundering project — developing a privacy-preserving dataset to help firms test and demonstrate new money laundering detection solutions.

Robiquity

• Earned two new Microsoft Solution Partner designations — Digital and App Innovation, and Data and AI, adding validated recognition across the full Microsoft automation and AI stack.
• Named as an approved supplier on the Crown Commercial Service DOS7 framework, reinforcing public sector credentials alongside existing relationships with the Ministry of Justice, Greater Manchester Police, and NHS Scotland.
• An industry first enterprise AI solution: Robiquity partnered with long-standing client Evri to deliver VeriSnap, an agentic AI solution that analyses every single delivery photo to automatically identify compliant and non-compliant deliveries. A significant milestone that puts Robiquity at the heart of Evri’s ambition to become the UK’s premier parcel delivery company, using AI to scan and check over 90 million delivery photos a month and, in turn, materially improve delivery compliance and customer experience across Evri’s network.

SecurityHQ

• Named a Leader for the second consecutive year in the IDC MarketScape: Middle East Managed Detection and Response assessment, with IDC highlighting SecurityHQ’s AI-driven investigation approach and SHQ Autopilot platform.
• Appointed Martin Trower as Chief Financial Officer — a significant leadership hire as the business continues to scale globally.
• Announced a strategic partnership with SecuritEase, deploying both MDR and Vulnerability Management as a Service capabilities.

Strata FSC

• Investing heavily in international expansion, with strategic hires made in Australia, Singapore, and the USA — building the global footprint to match the firm’s ambition as the leading specialist in Aladdin implementation and investment data transformation.
• Appointed Christopher Dean as Chairman. Having also recently joined fellow GCP portfolio business Optima Partners as Chairman, Christopher brings directly applicable experience of leading consulting firms through exactly this stage of growth.
• Published the COO’s Guide to Middle Office Outsourcing and Aladdin Provider, reinforcing Strata’s position as a strategic advisor, not just an implementation partner.

Elsewhere in the portfolio, the content and conversation continues to grow. Crosstide published two perspectives on re-engineering software delivery with agentic AI, exploring how to move beyond the hype and create genuine commercial value from AI-powered engineering.

We are proud of the momentum across our portfolio businesses this summer and look forward to supporting the next chapter of growth as we head into the second half of the year.