Performance improvement company River Marketing has achieved turnover of £8m for 2010/11, managing director Phil Dunk has revealed.

Tthe Oxfordshire-based agency is achieving 20 to 30 per cent year-on-year growth, thanks to a growing portfolio of high profile automotive clients, including Mercedes Benz, Land Rover, Jaguar, Bentley and Porsche, and other household names such as HSBC, Sharp, Glow-worm and Pioneer.

"We are growing because we charge fairly for our time and don’t rely on a mark-up on bought in goods and services," said Dunk. "Whilst the budget for rewards went down during the recession, our gross profit remained stable.”

Dunk added that budget and time constraints have required the agency to organise more events in the UK and get increasingly creative.

“Clients want incentives people can't do on their own and at the same time they need to be shorter, so we've started doing more in the UK,” he said. “For one recent event, we hosted a private evening with Derren Brown and hired Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck exclusively… all in two days. It was the kind of event that made those competing for places feel like they simply couldn’t miss out."

Meanwhile, recent events overseas have included a trip to Sainte Anne Island Resort in the Seychelles for Sharp and Jaguar's annual sales dealer of the year competition, which saw winners go on safari in Zambia and South Africa.

Dunk added: "This month we are running an annual three-night Pioneer event in Ibiza for 50 European dealers and guests," he said. "We'll be checking out the Ushuaïa Beach Hotel which has just opened and features a sound-proofed Pioneer Suite, equipped with Pioneer DJ equipment, so you can have your own party. Ibiza is most definitely cool again. We've noticed a lot of brands appealing to the young and affluent, showing an interest in the destination.”

Pictured: Phil Dunk