Brave Bison shares have dropped on news of a strategic investment into fellow listed firm System1 and accompanying share placing.
The share-for-share exchange with John Kearon (pictured), System1’s founder and largest shareholder, and on-market purchases totalling £1.3 million, have led to a strategic 28% investment into System1 Group PLC.
The deal has seemingly caused shares in marketing and tech group Brave Bison to fall 2% today, with new shares having been issued. It stands at 72.4 pence at the time of writing (2pm).
Described as a ‘marketing effectiveness leader’, System1’s share price has leapt 14% today.
It allows major brand advertisers to test marketing campaigns and product innovation through a purpose-built platform and data-led consultancy. Customers include Sky, Waitrose and Subway.
Founded by Kearon in 2006 and the company’s flagship Test Your Ad uses second-by-second emotional responses to score and rank creative campaigns against a database of over 120,000 adverts with over 18m tracked emotional responses.
Test Your Ad has grown from 81 customers in 2021 to 533 customers in 2025, and approximately 40% of System1’s revenue is generated in the US.
Brave Bison, owner of Social Chain, says the investment is expected to increase its profit after tax by approximately 5% on a pro-forma basis.
Based on consensus estimates, System1 is expected to report net cash as at 31st March 2026 of approximately £12m.
System1 reported £37.4m revenue for FY25, with adjusted EBITDA of £6.6m.
“I’m delighted to be rolling my equity interest in System1 into Brave Bison,” said Kearon. “I firmly believe that with Brave Bison’s shared ambition, vision, and support, System1 will be best able to fulfil its growth potential and create a braver, brighter future.”
Brave Bison is focused on orchestrating bespoke solutions across marketing consultancy, training and execution.
The companies say System1’s evidence-based principles of marketing effectiveness align directly with the marketing science foundations taught through the MiniMBA and delivered through Brave Bison’s agency services.
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