IDHL, a Leeds-based digital commerce and performance agency, has acquired London-based ecommerce consultancy, strategy and performance agency, Vervaunt.
Founded in 2017, Vervaunt works with premium brands including Mulberry, APC, Paul Smith, Represent and Champion.
Following IDHL’s acquisition of The MTM Agency in February, this move supports the group’s further growth ambitions across UK and US markets and enhances IDHL’s capabilities across performance, e-commerce and data intelligence.
Vervaunt brings over 70 specialists across related services, with expertise in e-commerce, paid media, social, and affiliate marketing, as well as creative services and community building.
As part of the deal, IDHL and Vervaunt will jointly invest more than £1.5 million in AI and emerging technology over the next year. The investment will accelerate the development of proprietary tools, extend the group’s digital product suite, and advance a product-led AI strategy for 2026.
This latest acquisition sees IDHL grow to around 500 people with teams in London, Leeds, Manchester, Southampton and New York. Vervaunt will join The MTM Agency and Fostr brands within the IDHL Group, with Paul Rogers, managing director, and Josh Duggan, co-founder, joining IDHL’s senior leadership team.
The transaction is supported by IDHL’s existing investment partner Bridgepoint, which partnered with the company in 2021 via Bridgepoint Development Capital.
Lewis Sellers, IDHL CEO, said: “Vervaunt has built an outstanding business that combines deep ecommerce expertise with exceptional paid media performance. Its talented team and impressive client roster strengthen our ability to deliver world-class digital commerce solutions.
“With this acquisition, we’re bringing together leading specialists across strategy, performance, and technology to help ambitious brands grow. I’m thrilled to welcome Paul and Josh to our leadership team as we continue to build the global agency we know IDHL can be.“
Paul Rogers, managing director, Vervaunt, said: “This is a huge move for both Vervaunt and IDHL and I’m really excited about the combined mission. We’ve spoken to a number of potential partners over the last 12 months, but IDHL was the only one that gave us the opportunity to play a part in the overall strategy whilst continuing to focus on strengthening Vervaunt.
“They also backed our thinking on the AI / product service front and ultimately gave us something we could buy into long-term. I’m confident this move will allow us to build a better product here and create new and bigger opportunities for our team.“
Josh Duggan, co-founder, Vervaunt, said: “This deal represents an exciting opportunity for both IDHL and Vervaunt to accelerate the next phase of our evolution together and drive even better value for our clients. We’re so proud of the business we have built and incredibly grateful to our amazing team for all the work that’s been put in to give us solid foundations as a business.
“We saw a rare opportunity to ultimately create a market leader on a much bigger, global scale and 10x our investment in tangible AI solutions and digital products. We’re confident we can stay focused and drive lots of improvements across our product and how we service clients as part of this move.“
Robin Lawson, partner at Bridgepoint, added: “The acquisition of Vervaunt is another important strategic plank in building out IDHL’s leading capabilities in paid marketing, e-commerce and AI. Bridgepoint is delighted to be adding further support to Lewis and the IDHL team in realising their ambitious vision.”
