The Lopex Group - which owns the Arks and Young advertising agencies as well as Greyling PR - is being bought out by Havas, the French advertising group.

Lopex has accepted the offer, believed to be more than £50 million (€74.9 million), and the deal, currently with the London Stock Exchange, is expected to go through late next month.

Arks and Young are happy with the deal. Mr Sean O'Meara, Young's managing director, says he expects the French owners, the third-largest advertising network in Europe, to give his agency the same degree of autonomy as under Lopex.