MSQ Group Acquires Design Firm Elmwood to Merge With Holmes & Marchant

Agency group MSQ has acquired international design firm Elmwood in a seven-figure deal that will see it merge with the group’s Holmes & Marchant to create a new global design agency model. The acquisition of Elmwood, which employs around 200 people across its offices in London, New York and Singapore, has been supported through private equity partner LDC with the aim of delivering branded experiences to a wider client range. The combined entity will operate under the Elmwood name outside of Asia, where Holmes & Marchant is seen to hold a stronger brand recognition, MSQ chief executive Peter Reid explained to Adweek. The aim will also be to build on the incoming skills around consumer, global healthcare and corporate design held by Elmwood while scaling in London and New York. The client roster will include major brands such as GSK, Unilever, Danone and Mars. Peter Reid explained to Adweek that the ambition for the merger, which has been six months in the making, would be to “further modernize the design and branding industry” while creating an “agile international business that can deliver branding solutions in the digital age.” “This structure helps further drive passion, collaboration and effectiveness within our business. Elmwood’s senior team will be putting equity into the business,” he added. Elmwood's figurehead to step away Synonymous with Elmwood is the majority shareholder and former chairman Jonathan Sands, who joined the then Leeds-based agency 40 years ago at the age of 18 before leading a management buyout 10 years later. Sands will now step away from the business completely after three decades of succession planning. “There has been a tacit desire to develop a truly strategic, brand experience offer with a global footprint of stature and that meant us having to have a substantive offer in Asia. And so, when the opportunity came along to merge the Holmes & Marchant brand with Elmwood it felt like just too good an opportunity to turn down as the synergies were so plain and simple to see,” Sands explained to Adweek. Last year, Elmwood demerged as a group, which saw the original Leeds studio rebrand to Born Ugly, an independent design firm which Sands will continue to run as chairman. On selling what he described as “his life’s work” Sands added: “I know with MSQ and the link with Holmes & Marchant that Elmwood will enjoy just that. I wish all my former colleagues and those they are about to partner, as much success and happiness with this next step in the Elmwood story as I have enjoyed in my time. They are a very talented and inspirational team.” New leadership Taking over the running of the enlarged agency will be chief executive Paul Galesloot who will report to Peter Reid, while Steve Gatfield, a former executive within IPG, will become executive chairman. The agency managing directors will be Sue Knowles in London, Nulty White in New York, Celeste Cheong in Singapore and Caroline So in Shanghai while Andy Lawrence and Richard Stayte will be joint executive creative directors; Greg Taylor and Steve Drummond will lead on strategy and Steven Forrest will be global finance director. Nick Gray, the London managing director for Holmes & Marchant will now head up the company’s growth strategy and sit on the global leadership team. Already this year MSQ has completed the acquisition of Be Heard Group which included agencies Freemavens, MMT Digital and media agency agenda21 which was merged into Walk-In Media. Digital agency MBA was also acquired in March and was merged with engagement agency Stack and last month saw the buy-out of creative production company Brave Spark. How Agencies in Europe Prepared for the Return to Office