Brandwatch makes first acquisition with £10m purchase of PeerIndex

Brandwatch, the Brighton-based social media monitoring company, has acquired PeerIndex, a London-based analytics company.

The deal, understood to be worth £10 million, strengthens Brighton and Hove's reputation as a hub for technology start-ups.

Earlier this year, Brandwatch - whose headquarters are in Queen's Road - raised more than £13 million ($22 million) in an investment round led by Highland Capital Partners Europe, a new investor, with significant participation from Nauta Capital and other existing investors.

Brandwatch tools are used by marketers and brand-owners to see what people are saying about their brands in social media.

The company, whose revenues last year were £9 million, was founded in 2007 by Giles Palmer, its chief executive. It has offices in New York, San Francisco, Berlin, and Stuttgart; clients include Whole Foods, Verizon, Whirlpool, Pepsico, British Airways, and Dell.

The offices of PeerIndex will become Brandwatch's London base.

Mr Palmer said he expected the deal to be followed by one or two other acquisitions in the coming year as Brandwatch builds towards an expected IPO (initial public offering) in two years' time.

He said the acquisition of PeerIndex - which identifies the most authoritative and influential people on social platforms - would help Brandwatch take on some of the technology giants in the United States.

On the Brandwatch website, Mr Palmer said PeerIndex, which was founded in 2009 by former journalist Azeem Azhar, was "years ahead of us in their understanding and technology for influencer analytics and mapping".

In a statement, Mr Palmer said: 'Content without context only goes so far, and we're telling the world just that with our acquisition of PeerIndex

'Understanding more about the actual people behind the conversations happening online is crucial to marketers, and this is about creating technologies that will allow them to target audience segments at scale with astonishing accuracy. '

For more information, visit: www.brandwatch.com