Building Blocks (part of Dept) completes acquisition of Tricode

Global digital agency Building Blocks (part of Dept) has completed the strategic acquisition of software developer, Tricode.

The move further strengthens Building Blocks’ technical capabilities and enables its expansion into new markets, namely the Netherlands and Macedonia where Tricode is based and renowned for its expertise in Java development.

The acquisition sees employee numbers at Building Blocks reach 150 and increases global revenue by £4m to £13m.

With this acquisition, Building Blocks has broadened its technical capabilities with Java solutions such as Adobe Experience Manager and Magnolia, and ecommerce solution Intershop, which will strengthen its offering to clients around the world.

Commenting on the acquisition, Building Blocks’ CEO, Jasper van de Luijtgaarden said: “As a global agency that exists to provide the very best technologies to its customers, we’re delighted with Tricode joining the Building Blocks family — it will make us stronger, bigger and better.

“The partnership will help us achieve our goals of increasing our footprint in the Benelux and Balkan regions, while developing our breadth of technical expertise and enabling us to offer a better service to our global client base.

“We expect this to be a positive and seamless integration with existing clients of both agencies benefitting from an enhanced services portfolio.”

Tricode’s CEO, Evert Jan van Schuppen said: “This is a great move for our company and our clients, who will benefit from the breadth of services that Building Blocks and the wider Dept network can offer, including consultancy and strategy, experience design and digital marketing services”.

Founded in 1999, Tricode employs over 60 people across its headquarters in Veenendaal in the Netherlands and Skopje in Macedonia. It works with high profile clients such as Liberty Global, Koninklijke Bibliotheek and Rabobank.

Building Blocks was founded in 2007 and its multidisciplinary team of 70 operates globally from offices in Manchester — UK, Zaragoza — Spain and Boston — USA, helping global companies solve complex problems with digital technologies. Over the past few years, Building Blocks has achieved consistent growth; 2016 was its most successful year to date, achieving a 34% increase in global revenue. Its client base includes global brands such as Triumph Motorcycles, Yara International and Kaspersky Labs.

Building Blocks is part of Dept — an international network of leading digital agencies. Comprising ten agencies in total, all offering complementary digital services, Tricode clients will benefit from tapping into the full capabilities of the Dept network, which includes specialist e-Commerce agency, Be Excellent, online marketing experts Expand Online, and top three Dutch agency, TamTam. www.deptagency.com