LONDON — Dublin-based social media specialist Fabric Social has hired former Coolr business director Lauren Sarginson to build its new operation in London, after a number of UK client wins.

Fabric, which was set up in 2021 by former Joe Media Group founder Niall McGarry, already works with brands including Greggs, Taytos, Nandos and DuoLingo. It was also responsible for resetting Ryanair’s social media strategy two years ago, via TikTok.

The agency recently won the Lastminute.com social media account after a competitive pitch, with a brief that covers all social media including Instagram and TikTok.

Sarginson (pictured) worked at social media specialist Coolr in London for four years, working alongside founder Adam Clyne to grow the agency from seven people to 70. She left Coolr at the end of 2022 and joined Flight Story, the digital brand marketing agency owned by entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, as client services director.

In her new role at Fabric, Sarginson will lead the new UK operation, initially as business director. The agency currently has a mostly-remote team of eight in the UK, and 25 in its Dublin office.

She told PRovoke Media: “I learnt so much from Adam at Coolr and had an amazing time but I wanted to try something new. Flight Story was a good learning experience, working with ex-Deloitte and PwC colleagues, but it also taught me what I missed about social-first, culture-led agencies.

“I jumped at the chance of working with Niall – he lives and breathes social. It’s a super-exciting new kid on the block with really experienced and talented people. We’re now pitching in the UK and my remit is to launch the UK office as a separate business and grow the team here – we’ll be hiring aggressively against new business wins.”

McGarry said: “I am delighted to welcome Lauren on board to head up and drive our UK operation. We have been quickly growing in the UK market in the past 24 months and have picked up and won a number of exciting clients.

"Lauren’s experience and credibility in this space is unmatched and as a result she makes the perfect candidate to drive the business forward as we refocus more towards the UK market. We have big, ambitious plans to grow the business in 2024 and see a huge opportunity to build a social creative agency of the future.”