Octagon

History

Octagon was founded on April 1, 1983, as Advantage International by attorneys Phil de Picciotto, Frank Craighill, and Lee Fentress, with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The three had worked together at the tennis marketing agency ProServ, and decided to form their own agency.

Their early clients included tennis players Steffi Graf and Jimmy Connors, basketball players Moses Malone and Dell Curry, and Olympic athletes Bonnie Blair and Rowdy Gaines.

In 1998, the company expanded from a talent management company when it signed automaker BMW as its first corporate client.

In 1997, Advantage International was acquired by marketing agency network Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). In 1998, IPG acquired British Sports marketing agency The AGI Group, and combined Advantage with AGI under a holding company called Octagon. In 1999, the company changed its name to Octagon, adopting the brand of its parent holding company.

Octagon entered motorsports in 1999 by acquiring Brands Hatch Leisure plc and its circuits, including Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton, and Cadwell Park. It later acquired stakes in British Motorsport Promoters Limited and TOCA Limited, and in 2000 agreed to lease Silverstone Circuit and promote the British Grand Prix for the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC). Financial difficulties at parent company IPG led Octagon to sell its circuits and its interest in British Motorsport Promoters Limited in 2004, retaining only Silverstone and the British Grand Prix. The subsidiary Brands Hatch Circuit Limited was renamed Silverstone Motorsport Limited (SML). SML ceased operations later that year, with Formula One Management assuming British Grand Prix promotion and BRDC taking over its assets and liabilities. SML was later renamed Engels 1 Limited and wound down its remaining administrative matters.