McKenzie Clark has been acquired by Chime Communications where it becomes part of the PLC’s sports marketing division working in conjunction with event branding and production specialist Icon with which it has been collaborating. McKenzie Clark will continue to operate from its head office in South East London, under the control of the current management team.
McKenzie Clark has worked with Icon on a major UK sporting event for the last 12 months and the acquisition is said to underpin the synergies between the two businesses.
Chime is made up of four divisions, 60 agencies and over 1,600 people, with offices in the UK and around the world. Commenting on the acquisition Graham Clark, McKenzie Clark managing director, said: ?“Becoming a part of Chime Sports Marketing is extremely exciting and progressive for the business. CSM is a leading International Sports Marketing group with a growing number of complementary businesses including Icon. Partnering with Icon and sharing skills and experience has already resulted in a major project win and their proven expertise in delivering major event and corporate branding programmes worldwide provides the perfect complement to our skills in artwork, colour and quality management and large-format production, and will certainly position us as the leading branding and graphics business within the UK.
“The geographical network of CSM will also assist McKenzie Clark in providing the best service for its global customers. Additionally the backing of a PLC of Chime’s stature will give McKenzie Clark additional financial stability and the opportunity to progress our plans for investment into improved technology and resources, resulting in greater capacity and diversity.”
John Francis, Icon’s managing director, added: ?“Having worked closely with McKenzie Clark over the last 12 months we have seen the benefits of combining our skill sets. We have created ground breaking systems and processes that provide customers with outstanding project management from budget control, speed of delivery, quality assurance, brand consistency and guardianship and quality of delivery capable of providing the very best solution for their total branding requirements. Furthermore, economies of scale and a focus on achieving the most sustainable solution achieve environmentally friendly products at the best value.”
Edward Leask, deputy chairman of CSM, led the group’s bid to acquire McKenzie Clark which in 2011 achieved sales of £7.65 M, an increase of 12% on the previous year. He said: “The sports marketing division of Chime (CSM) is delighted to be welcoming Graham and his colleagues into the business. McKenzie Clark has an unparalleled reputation for delivering World Class branding and graphics solutions and their expertise surrounding artwork creation and control and large format production is second to none. Working alongside Icon and the event and consultancy businesses within CSM creates a formidable offering for future major global sports events and branding projects.”