Curtis Gabriel falls into administration two years after major head office expansion

Curtis Gabriel, the digital marketing business that specialised in running private hire operators’ social media accounts, has gone into administration.

Insolvency practitioners Steven Ross and Allan Kelly, both of FRP Advisory Trading Limited, were appointed administrators in the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts in Newcastle-upon-Tyne last week.

According to sources, Curtis Gabriel had recovered from the effects of the pandemic, but faced a number of issues, including the recent spate of mergers and takeovers within the taxi and private hire business, which has resulted in a reduction of its client base.

Curtis Gabriel was founded in 2011 by Simon Curtis and Roger Gabriel. It had grown quickly to employ 45 people by November 2021, when it moved into a new 10,000 sq ft head office at a former Greggs bakery in Newcastle. They expanded with clients in the US, UAE and Europe.

At the time, Curtis said: “Our continued growth and expansion meant that it was time for us to move. We needed extra meeting rooms for video calls along with a number of break out spaces so this fit the bill perfectly.”

In May 2023, director James Deville left the company to take up a director role at dispatch systems provider Cab9.