A Raleigh public relations and marketing agency will shut down Friday and lay off its 25 employees.

The Catevo Group has represented a variety of local businesses, including Blue Cross, Novozymes and BB&T.

But the company's parent corporation, the Laudes Corp., recently decided to "restructure and consolidate its businesses both in the U.S. and abroad," Catevo wrote in a prepared statement.

Most businesses have cut back on spending during the recession, hurting many PR firms. The closure of Catevo follows news in August that Ray Hornak had been named as the company's president.

Catevo was formed in 2006 by the merger of Epley Associates, a PR agency, and Digiton Group, a marketing firm. At its peak, Catevo employed more than 50 people with offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Washington and London.

Ray Hornak, a mainstay of the Triangle's public relations circuit, has ascended to the pinnacle of the company where he has burnished corporate reputations for the past 26 years.

Hornak, 59, this month was named president of The Catevo Group, a company that provides PR, communications, marketing and other services. He takes the helm from Mitch Javidi, who left to pursue other opportunities.

"We've struggled over the last 12 to 18 months to make ends meet," Hornak said. "I'm lucky because I'm going to get to preside over a growth rather than a holding back."