Lord Alan Sugar has bought back the rights to the name Amstrad, 17 years after selling it to Sky, for a new digital marketing firm led by his grandson.
The business magnate and TV personality, best known for BBC One’s The Apprentice, criticised “belligerent” bosses at Sky before it was taken over by Comcast in 2018 for refusing to sell the rights.
“I had always asked, since 2007, to have it back because I want to give it down to the family to use in their business,” Lord Sugar told the PA news agency.
Lord Sugar founded Amstrad in 1968 at the age of 21. The electronics company became a household name for making personal computers more affordable.
It manufactured the first range of Sky receivers and dishes, with the broadcaster acquiring it for £125m in 2007. Sky still uses the software but not the Amstrad name.
The new agency, Amstrad Digital, is set to be led by Lord Sugar’s grandson, Joe Baron, as well as Tom D’Arcy. Both have worked at rival agency Climb Online, which was created by 2014 The Apprentice winner Mark Wright and sold for a reported £10m in 2022.
“They’ve got the brand name, that in itself is worth a fortune, and they’ve got to exploit it. And I want to see some money,” Lord Sugar said.
“These two lads are not going to sit in their pyjamas working from home, they’ve got to get out there and do some business.”
The businessman has repeatedly opposed post-pandemic remote working, calling it “bad for morale, bad for learning” in an interview with BBC Breakfast in January.
Big broadcasters like ITV and Channel 4 are grappling with poor market conditions that have constricted ad budgets. ITV anticipates an eight per cent year-on-year decline in advertising revenues when it reports its 2023 later this week.
Lord Sugar said: “TV companies have cut back tremendously, and the reason for that is because the power of television advertising is not as big as it was. It is now digital marketing, digital advertising and social media that are actually pulling in sales.”
D’Arcy added: “The digital marketing landscape is ever-changing, which we see as a huge opportunity. The last thing someone should be doing is cutting back on marketing spend.”
Baron said the new agency would have “exactly the same values” as its namesake.