Carat to handle £140m UK Government media buying account

The £140 million UK Government public service message media buying contract, formerly run through the Central Office of Information, has been handed to Carat, according to a report in The Drum.

The account is thought to have been awarded to the Dentsu Aegis-owned agency earlier this week following a tender process that is understood to have included incumbent, GroupM’s M4C.

Previously run by WPP’s M4C – a group made up of MediaCom, Mindshare and MEC – the account covers all of the media buying for the UK Government’s public service messaging.

When M4C was handed the account in 2010, it was valued at approximately £250 million – the largest of its kind.

The new appointment is yet to be confirmed by the Cabinet Office, Carat or Denstu Aegis.