Mark Glover looks back at Newington's year.

What a year it has been at Newington Communications. In fact, just look at last week (11-15 December). We started by winning the APPC Young Consultants Quiz, then secured two major planning permissions for clients, and attended the Public Affairs Awards 2017 – where we were shortlisted six times, and won one of the big two awards - the ‘Consultancy Campaign of the Year’, for our work with the LTDA.

Newington is a different agency from a year ago, both in terms of our size and reach. SEC Group continues to grow with offices across Europe, now including Warsaw, whilst our strategic partnership with Porta Group means we have access to offices in Australia, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Hong Kong.

But what does not change is our commitment to clients. The staff working at Newington remain some of the brightest and most devoted people I have ever worked with. That has led to the influx of a range of new clients, and I am delighted Newington has secured, among others, Anglian Water, DPD, Newable, SSE, Scotia Gas Networks, Venture Capital Trust Association, Tratos Cables, Chalgrove Property Ltd, Keepmoat, Savoy Education Trust, Clarion and Countryside, and Volunteering Matters.

In terms of client delivery, we have seen the launch of the British Takeaway Campaign, a tremendous success for Octopus Energy and their campaign for an Energy Price Cap, Uber banned in London, the establishment of the All Party Group on Taxis under the leadership of Wes Streeting MP,  support secured for building student accommodation in Brighton, approval for the development of Hornsey Town Hall, 60 MPs attending a parliamentary reception with the Equitable Members Action Group, unanimous approval for a scheme in Newham, and planning permission for a major scheme in Ilford.

Internally, staff supported charities including UK Youth, Pupaid, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, Carers UK, eShare and Landaid.  Newington staff have also continued to mentor local schoolchildren and participate in bake offs, sports days and cultural trips.

For me personally, I stood down as APPC Chairman and was appointed as an Executive Director to the Board of SEC Group to build a global challenger brand to the multinational PR agencies.

2018 promises even more growth and adventures for the agency – so do email [email protected] if you would like an initial meeting, or if you need advice on a specific issue.