PwC acquires £4m Leeds research business

PwC has the acquisition of Leeds-based research business, Optimisa Research.

As a result of the transaction, PwC has expanded the capacity of its existing global research to insight consulting business.

Together the new merged teams will become PwC Research, providing connected insight to local, national and international businesses.

With offices in Leeds and London, Optimisa Research is a full service agency which has an annual turnover of around £4m with employs forty-five staff, who will all join PwC.

The deal will provide PwC clients with increased qualitative and consumer-led research capabilities. It will also strengthen the national and regional reach of PwC Research with additional capacity in Leeds, London and Belfast.

PwC’s research to insight consulting business is a global Centre of Excellence for research, insight and analytics and is based in Belfast, delivering research services for global clients, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to national governments.

With the acquisition of Optimisa, the new business, PwC Research, will now comprise more than 100 research professionals and analytics consultants in Leeds, London and Belfast.

Honor Mallon, PwC partner and PwC Research leader, said: “Incorporating the extensive skillset of the Optimisa team with our existing business is key to differentiating our service and accelerating growth.

“We are already providing research and insight to PwC clients globally and this acquisition will expand our capacity to deliver integrated quantitative and qualitative insights to both business and consumer-facing clients. Optimisa has distinct strengths in the financial services sector - a key industry sector where we are already particularly active.

“The combined business will give us unrivalled market differentiation and allow PwC Research to provide truly connected insight to our clients. By merging our business expertise, research capability and data analytics we can provide insight that will help organisations worldwide, make better strategic decisions”.

Michelle Norman, Optimisa CEO, who becomes a director in PwC Research, added: “Since the company launched nearly 30 years ago, we have undertaken a wide-range of prestigious and thought-provoking research across the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific.

“Our services complement those of PwC and together our combined potential will allow us to deliver a more rounded solution for clients. We have similar aspirations for growth and now, as part of PwC Research, I am confident that we can accelerate our combined growth and reach.”

Marco Amitrano, UK head of consulting at PwC, concluded: “This acquisition marks not only a significant addition to our research capabilities, supporting ambitious growth plans over the next few years, but also supports our strategic priority to bring more connected insight to our clients as they tackle increasingly complex business transformation challenges and seek opportunities for growth that arise from disruption in their industries.”

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