Edinburgh brand and content agency bucks industry gloom with record 2025

An Edinburgh-based brand and content agency has bucked the industry gloom and delivered its strongest financial year on record.

Rationale said it had achieved £1.6 million in revenue for its 20024/25 financial period - a 22 per cent increase on the previous year.

The performance stands out in a challenging year for the brand and marketing sector, with many agencies seeing sales decline and as marketing budgets fell for the first time in four years.

Rationale's leadership team are celebrating a record-breaking year. Left to right: Svein Clouston, Caroline Olechowski, Aisling Cotter, Paul Saag and Rowan Morrison.

Rationale said it had continued to scale through a combination of major client wins, long-term partnerships and growing demand across regulated markets. The agency renewed a contract with Bupa to deliver strategic brand support across multiple areas of the business, strengthened its pipeline in US health-tech, and continued to deliver an ongoing programme of work for a major New York investment bank.

Since its launch in 2019 with two founders, Rowan Morrison and Svein Clouston, the firm has grown to a team of 23, including six new hires in 2025.

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Morrison, co-managing director, said: “Our industry has faced a difficult year, with many agencies navigating shrinking budgets, consolidation and a slowdown in client spending. To grow in this climate - and at this pace, is something we’re incredibly proud of.

“It speaks to the depth of expertise across our team and the trust our clients place in us across complex, highly regulated sectors. These results mark a defining moment in our journey.”

Clouston added: “If current momentum continues, we’re on track to approach £2m in revenue next year. That’s entirely down to our brilliant team and the trust our clients put in us.

“Forecasts aside, our focus remains on doing great work and supporting clients in complex, regulated sectors. But we’re taking nothing for granted.”

The agency’s client base now spans the UK, Europe and the United States, and in early 2025 the firm was invited to 10 Downing Street for the Burns Night celebrations after being named an “Agency to Watch in 2025”.