Deal puts GGT in the red

GGT Group, the advertising agency, yesterday revealed that redundancies and advisory fees arising from December's pounds 96m acquisition of BDDP, the French agency network, cost pounds 8.1m, writes Cathy Newman.

The company, which more than doubled its size with the purchase of BDDP, said the charge resulted in a net loss of pounds 100,000 in the year to April, compared to 1995-96's profit of pounds 5.6m.

A spokesman for GGT would not comment on the scale of the redundancies, but said that a a "few expensive people" had lost their jobs after the merger. Among those to have resigned since the deal are Jan Hall, GGT's European chief executive. Ms Hall had been with GGT for three years and left last month.

GGT said yesterday that an operational review of BDDP was under way.

Before the exceptional costs of the acquisition, profit before tax rose 32 per cent to pounds 7.5m. The dividend was increased by 7 per cent to 6.2p.