Havas Group announced today the acquisition of Gate One, one of the UK’s leading independent management consultancies.
At a time when creative agencies and holding companies around the world must face the acquisitions of creative hubs by the large management consultancies, this move sterngthens Havas’ UK and Havas Group international capabilities in this field.
Gate one adds management consultancy know how to Havas UK operations that already comprises 10 businesses spanning the marketing services spectrum.
Yannick Bollore, CEO & Chairman Havas Group comments: “Investing in the consultancy space is a bold move that has the potential to unlock huge growth for our Group in the UK and beyond. Meaningfulness is at the core of everything we do at Havas so it is really exciting to find a business like Gate One which truly speaks our language. I’d like to welcome the team on board.”
Gate One CEO Tim Phillips describes the journey to acquisition: “We went through a long and rigorous process looking for the right partner to take the next step with our business. That included many household names and the biggest organisations in consulting. Our clients and the broader market are increasingly telling us that they need integrated digital, marketing and business transformation services and it was obvious when we met the team at Havas that we had found our future home.”
Gate One will relocate its team of 70+ digital and business transformation specialists to the Havas Kings Cross Village in London in early 2020. The agency will retain both its established name and leadership team, including Tim Phillips who will keep on as CEO. Gate One will also add its clients to HKX’s growing roster of leading brands.
“New leadership, the power of our Village model and our partnership with Vivendi have transformed our UK business over the past three years,” says Chris Hirst, UK Group and Global CEO, Havas Creative network. “We have been searching for the right kind of business that can bring something completely new. Gate One are a best in class business that will add significant new capabilities and strengthen those we already have. We are delighted they have chosen to join us. As clients are increasingly looking for integrated services, the addition of Gate One to our well-established village model makes our UK offering truly unique.”
Image over the headline.- Chris Hirst (CEO Havas UK Group and Global CEO, Havas Creative Network) -right- and Tim Phillips (CEO Gate One).© Havas Group.
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