MSQ said that it saw The Forge as a complementary addition to its portfolio of companies, which includes insight and strategy company Freemavens, and would bring in additional strategic insight skills.  

In return, MSQ said that The Forge would benefit from access to the company’s technology and market opportunities, with expansion opportunities in places including Amsterdam, where it currently has director presence, and the US, where existing clients are based.

The acquisition follows MSQ deals to buy German digital experience agency UDG in November last year and New York creative agency SPCSHP last October.

The Forge operates a director-only colleague model and was founded in 2013, with leadership consisting of Steven Melford as managing director, Simon Garnett, Karl Miley, Lee Manning Craik, Kirsty Yeomans and Daniel Quinn.

The Forge’s leadership team will work closely with MSQ executive director, and former chief executive at Kantar Consulting, Bart Michels.

Peter Reid, group chief executive officer at MSQ, said: “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.”   

Michels commented: “By harnessing the strategic insight skills of The Forge with the dynamic, digital first approach to insight and strategy of Freemavens we can dig deeper and go further for our clients to unpick categories, markets and consumer opportunities.

“I look forward to working closely with Steven, Simon and the wider team as we explore the significant possibilities ahead.”

Steven Melford, co-founder and managing director at The Forge, added: “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. The increased scope of MSQ’s services, our ability to bring something different to that offering and the global footprint it brings to us is hugely exciting as we collaborate with our new colleagues to see what opportunities we can unlock.

“It’s business as usual at The Forge but supercharged with a bright future ahead.”