Savanta buys UK division of Future Thinking

The deal only involves its UK division; Gemseek – the Bulgarian-based data science and analytics market research firm Future Thinking bought in 2016 – and Future Thinking France have not been acquired by Savanta.

Savanta’s purchase – the latest in a raft of takeovers it’s made in the past couple of years – includes Future Thinking’s London and Oxford offices with a combined staff of 61.

Savanta said the UK management team will remain with the business and that there will be "no immediate changes to the day-to-day running of the company".  

Before this purchase, Future Thinking UK had gone through a tumultuous period with a number of senior people leaving the business last year including Adele Gritten, its managing director; John Dembitz, its non-exec chair; David Griffith, group company secretary and James Stevenson, group CEO.

Roger Perowne, global CEO at Savanta, said: “We’re pleased to announce the acquisition of Future Thinking UK. We’re joining together with a team of specialist consultants with the experience needed to advise brands on key decisions they face every day.” 

Simon Mason, executive chairman of Future Thinking Group, added: “We are very pleased to have sold the UK business to such a well-known and capable operator in the sector in Savanta.

“Outside of this acquisition our other businesses – Gemseek and Future Thinking France – delivered very strong results in 2019 and there is much more to come from them in 2020 as they continue to align themselves to clients’ needs and provide innovative and exciting solutions for large businesses across Europe.”