Thu, 22 May 2025 | BUSINESS SALE
Marketing communications (marcoms) group MSQ has completed the acquisition of fellow London-based firm The Forge. Founded in 2013, The Forge is an innovation and strategy research firm that serves a global client base spanning sectors including retail, finance, fashion and entertainment.
The acquisition will complement MSQ’s existing business, which includes insights, analytics and strategy firm Freemavens. The deal also comes after the group completed two acquisitions last year, with deals for German customer experience firm UDG and New York-based creative agency SPCSHP.
MSQ Group CEO Peter Reid (pictured) commented: “The Forge is a brilliant addition to MSQ, the team brings greater depth and breadth to our strategic thinking, unlocks innovation growth opportunities for our clients and provides an opportunity for us to extend the scope of The Forge’s work beyond strategy and into activation harnessing our broader skills particularly in creative, design and digital.”
The Forge provides clients with customer insight and commercial expertise, developing customer-driven business strategies based on these insights, and generates annual revenues of around £4 million.
The acquisition will see The Forge join MSQ’s portfolio of a dozen subsidiary agencies, which comprises around 1,850 staff working across 24 global offices. Following the takeover, The Forge’s current leadership will work alongside MSQ Executive Director Bart Michels, while the company’s staff will work closely with the Freemavens team. According to the group, the deal will also provide The Forge with opportunities for expansion, particularly in Amsterdam.
Steven Melford, co-founder and Managing Director of The Forge, commented: "We've had a number of approaches over the years. Any growth partner had to ultimately fit our key criteria of being good people, with a strong cultural fit, a stimulating vision and a platform that would provide growth opportunities for our business, our clients and our team. MSQ ticks all the boxes and importantly has a strong track record of allowing entrepreneurial agencies to thrive under its ownership.”
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