Lane takes route to employee ownership model

The new Lane Group board

Lane & Lane Media have come together as Scotland’s largest employee-owned integrated creative and media agency under the newly formed Lane Group umbrella.

It will see the transfer of a majority shareholding into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). 

Lane was founded by Ali Findlay in 2008 as a fully integrated agency, while Lane Media was set up in 2015 when co-founder Barry Fearn joined the business.

The new combination joins a small cohort of Scottish creative businesses to adopt an employee-ownership model.

It will continue to be run by its directors and the existing leadership team remains in place, with Mr Fearn as CEO of Lane Group, along with directors Chris Bruce, Ian Duncan and Paul Borthwick. 

Mr Findlay, who continues as chair, said: “For me, this is about creating a legacy for Lane. By bringing creative, digital, content and media back together – and by moving into employee ownership – we’re ensuring the agency can stay independent, protect our culture of creative collaboration, and stay focused on clients and performance for the long term.” 

Mr Fearn added: “Lane’s independence has always been one of our greatest strengths. This move gives us the best of both worlds – long-term stability with the same leadership and focus, and a renewed sense of shared purpose.” 

The EOT board will include founder trustees,?two employee trustees, and an?independent trustee, industry specialist Mark Probert, ensuring transparency and accountability in decision-making. 


Fast PR

Muckle Media, the Edinburgh-based PR agency, has been recognised as one of the fifty fastest-growing businesses in Scotland and one of 350 fastest in the UK.

It was placed 40th in Scotland in the UK Fast Growth Index and is the only communications consultancy on the list.

The agency acquired Spey in 2024 which saw the workforce almost double in size.  It almost doubled its turnover from 2022 to 2024 to £1.1 million, then more than doubled again to £2.3 million for the year ending March 2025, delivering triple digit three-year growth between 2022 and 2025. 

Nathalie Agnew, founder and managing director, said: “We’ve accomplished a lot in 14 short years, and I can’t wait to see where we take things next.” 


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