A rise in professional services M&A provides a boost to MC2

Strategic marketing communications agency MC2 has seen a flurry of new client wins as the professional services industry gears up for a rise in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). 

The Manchester-headquartered agency, which specialises in working with high-growth businesses, has onboarded a number of new clients in the accountancy, wealth management and tax advisory sub-sectors. It is providing strategic marketing counsel as they look to build their value ahead of exploring M&A, and refocus their marketing to deliver top line growth.

MC2 has a team of 35 strategic marketing professionals across the entire marketing communications mix, and became 100 percent employee owned in 2021. It recently refreshed its go-to-market approach, which is built around the needs of high-growth businesses that are looking to scale, attract new talent and raise external capital.

Recent professional services wins include wealth management firm Five Wealth, which secured £6.7m from Foresight last year, and specialist adviser Claritas Tax which is rapidly expanding its UK presence with two new offices in Glasgow and Bristol. 

In addition, MC2 has started working with accountancy firm JS (formerly Jackson Stephen), and accountancy and contracting business Sapphire, which has been through a management buyout (MBO) and recently became employee owned. The agency is also continuing its work with Deloitte in the North West, as well as supporting the firm’s M&A activity in the Midlands.

Liam Buckley, director and strategist at MC2, said: “Professional services has been a key focus for MC2 for more than two decades. Plenty of UK companies in this space have seen impressive growth over the last few years, racking up top-line growth and demonstrating their ability to scale organically and via acquisition. This has driven greater interest from private equity looking to deploy capital, creating a more fertile environment for M&A. 

“We’re continuing to speak to a number of firms that are particularly active in this space, and look forward to supporting them with brand positioning and integrated marketing as they gear up for their next transaction.”