DUBAI — Grayling Dubai, which was bought from the Huntsworth-owned network by its CEO Loretta Ahmed last September, has relaunched as Houbara Communications.

The now-independent agency, named after the endangered houbara bustard, becomes Grayling’s exclusive affiliate in the Middle East.

Ahmed said: “The name Houbara reflects my ambition to build a business rooted in the Middle East but with talent and capabilities to serve clients locally and internationally.”

She added: “We have evolved into a content marketing PR agency with digital and social strengths putting us at the forefront of such agencies in this fast-moving part of the world”.

A restructure since the buy-out has seen creative director Arian Hashemi move the agency’s creative division under his ownership under the name Brand Husl, which will work with the Houbara team on creative brand development projects.

“We need fast, innovative digital content creation capabilities, which we will continue to provide in-house, but all broader graphic design briefs will be served by Brand Husl, which we now consider a sister agency.  It’s the same people under the same roof but with a different operational structure that gives us greater flexibility,” said Ahmed.