Acquisition of Fripp Sandeman and Partners Limited

RNS Number : 9080V

St. Ives PLC

13 August 2015

 

13 August 2015                                  

St Ives plc

Acquisition of Fripp Sandeman and Partners Limited

St Ives plc ("St Ives" or the "Group"), the international marketing services group, announces that it has acquired Fripp Sandeman and Partners Limited ("FSP"), a UK-based retail business consultancy.

Established in 1976, FSP provides insight and consultancy services on retail property assets and investments across the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe, working with retailers, investors, shopping centre, retail park and factory outlet centre managers and owners, as well as local authorities.

The company has a strong client base, which includes Ares, Hammerson, Legal & General, Aviva Investors, M&G Real Estate, Bournemouth Borough Council and Fenwick. FSP's revenue for the year ended 31 May 2015 was £2.1 million and the business employs approximately 20 staff.

The acquisition represents a continuation of St Ives' strategy to further enhance the range of specialist consultancy services available to its clients. FSP will operate as a subsidiary of St Ives within its Strategic Marketing segment, working closely with Pragma, one of the Group's consultancies, which specialises in retail and consumer markets as well as airports and commercial spaces.

FSP will continue to be managed from its current location in Buckinghamshire by its existing management team, which includes John Fell, Ken Gunn and Jo Hewson.

Matt Armitage, Chief Executive of St Ives, commented: "With its results-driven approach and experience working with retail property professionals and retailers, FSP is an excellent fit for the Group, in line with our stated strategy of acquiring complementary, ambitious and growing Strategic Marketing businesses that share our common attributes and ethos."

Tom Holt, Chief Executive of Pragma Consulting, commented: "We are extremely excited with the FSP acquisition and look forward to working closely with the team. FSP provides a highly complementary dimension to our current Airports, Travel and Commercial Spaces Division and our retail clients will also benefit from their wealth of experience. "

Commenting on the acquisition, Jo Hewson, MD of FSP, said: "Joining St Ives, a strong and diversified Group, will not only ensure that FSP continues to offer the independent insight and advice that our clients rely upon but will also allow us to benefit from a wide range of synergies and depth of skills.  The opportunity to work closely with Pragma is especially exciting and will enable FSP to continue to expand its present range of services and clients across Europe and beyond."

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For further information please contact:

St Ives plc                                                      020 7928 8844

Matt Armitage, Chief Executive

Brad Gray, Chief Financial Officer

MHP Communications                                 020 3128 8139

John Olsen / Giles Robinson / Gina Bell

About St Ives Group

St Ives is an international marketing services group, made up of a number of successful and dynamic businesses serving leading brands internationally, with offices in the UK, North America, China and Singapore.

We operate not as a single entity but as a group of market leading businesses, each with its own unique value proposition, offering complementary services and collaborating closely with each other wherever this adds value to clients. We work with a large number of leading, international consumer-facing brands across all major sectors - including retail & FMCG, healthcare & pharma, financial services, media, technology, automotive and charity - helping them determine strategic direction, and designing and delivering world-class solutions to match their specific requirements.

Our industry leading Strategic Marketing businesses have strong capabilities across three specialist high growth areas: data, digital and consulting.

Our Marketing Activation businesses, which deliver marketing communications through a combination of print and in-store marketing services, complement our Strategic Marketing offering and collaborate with them where this adds value to clients.

The Group's strategy for further growth is centred around three key priorities:

o  organic growth through collaboration and investment in our existing brands;

o  internationalisation, often client-led, into large and high growth markets; combined with

o  further acquisitions of complementary, ambitious and growing Strategic Marketing businesses that share our common attributes and ethos.

Our longstanding Books business, which is the UK market leader, represents another valuable source of profit and cash generation as the Group continues to expand.

 

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