Granite Digital continues growth spree with acquisition of Galway-based Armour

Cork marketing firm Granite Digital showed no signs of slowing down its aggressive growth campaign amid a volatile economic environment as it announced another acquisition, which is expected to boost company revenues by more than €14m this year.

This week, Granite Digital acquired Galway-based product design company Armour for an undisclosed sum.

“This acquisition will not only increase our breadth of services with enhanced product development capabilities, but it will also give us the flexibility to adapt to whatever comes next in the rapidly evolving world of digital customer experiences,” said Granite Digital CEO Conor Buckley.

Customers from Supermac's to Pfizer

The deal adds 150 customers across Ireland, the UK and the US including Supermac’s, Intel, eFlow, and Pfizer to Granite Digital’s client portfolio.

The acquisition has also grown company headcount to more than 120 staff.

Armour said on its website that its staff have moved across to “the greater Granite Digital team to work as the product development wing of the business”. The company will trade as
Armour by Granite.

Founded in Galway in 2010 by friends Andrew Dewdney and Jamie Casey, Armour offers services in product and mobile app development. Mr Dewdney, co-founder and director of Armour said: 

With the additional expertise and capabilities the Granite Digital team bring, we look forward to further accelerating our client business and growth potential. 

This is the latest in a string of deals completed by Granite Digital. In 2022, the company  purchased Dublin-based Willows Consulting and Continuum.

The Continuum deal added over 100 clients from across Ireland, the UK, US, South America, and Asia to Granite Digital’s business.

Armour is the 14th Irish digital services business to be acquired by Granite Digital. Other deals in recent years include the acquisition of Connector, Webtrade, Media One, and Apps Made Easy.

“We are excited to see the impact this acquisition will have on our business and our ability to deliver a more comprehensive range of digital services and experiences to our growing Irish and international customer base,” said Mr Buckley.

Granite's US expansion

Earlier this year, Granite Digital eyed up further expansion in the US market and acquired New York-based LCM 247.

LCM247 is a creative agency and television production studio founded by Patrick Heaphy, which works with clients on design, marketing automation, website, and app creation in addition to producing advertisements, network TV series, and documentaries. Upcoming motion pictures in development include Rare Objects starring Katie Holmes.

Granite Digital has expanded to become Ireland’s largest independent digital agency. 

Granite now has 1,200 clients 

Design, technology, strategy, digital marketing, advertising, and secure managed hosting are among its service offerings.

Founded in Cork in 2008, Granite Digital now has a client base of over 1,200 organisations. The company’s customers include Enterprise Ireland, Bons Secours Health System, Dublin Bus, Davy, Fexco, and Aon.

The company has battled several challenges over the last year despite its success with acquisitions.

Challenges include Brexit and inflation

Last summer, the company told the Irish Examiner that inflation was “eating up everything from a margin perspective at our end”, leading to higher prices.

Meanwhile, Brexit also became a nuisance for the expanding firm.

In 2021, Granite Digital was in the process of acquiring a UK-based company but due to a number of reasons, including Brexit, the deal fell through.

However, while Granite Digital has experienced some bumps in the road, it seems to be performing well and maintaining momentum in the current mergers and acquisition environment.

Recent figures from LSEG Deals Intelligence showed $5.9bn (€5.25bn) worth of mergers and acquisitions with Irish involvement occurred during the first half of the year, marking a 73% decline compared with a year earlier and the lowest first-half total since 2011.

The number of Irish deals declined 26% compared to a year ago but marked the fourth highest first-half deal count of all time, according to LSEG Deals Intelligence.

Reporting: The Irish Examiner