Following the merger, the combined business will bring together Fiftyfive5’s 80 staff with GalKal’s headcount of 35, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore.

A joint statement issued by the two companies claims the merger will create Australia’s largest independent consumer insights business.

Founded in 2010, Fiftyfive5 focuses on insights-led consulting and operates in 40 markets globally. GalKal was established in 1997 as brand development company Galileo, which later merged with qualitative agency Kaleidoscope to form GalKal.

The investment from Mercury Capital – the value of which has not been disclosed – will support the union and aid further investment in staff and technology.

Fiftyfive5 partners Karen Phillips, Mark Sundquist and Darren Kemp, and GalKal partners Brent Wallace and Anna Rose Stancombe will retain their leadership positions following the merger.

The integration of the companies will take place in stages over the next year to avoid disruption to clients and ensure combined assets are ‘optimally leveraged’, according to the press statement.

Oliver Tompkins, director at Mercury Capital, said: “Large clients are increasingly focused on better understanding their customers and their behaviours and the combined Fiftyfive5 and GalKal business is the market leader in helping them with this. We see the combined business as a great platform for sustainable growth.”

Pictured: Fiftyfive5’s Darren Kemp, Karen Phillips and Mark Sundquist and GalKal’s Brent Wallace