OREANDA-NEWS. August 14, 2015. St Ives plc ("St Ives" or the "Group"), the international marketing services group, announces that it has acquired Fripp Sandeman and Partners Limited ("FSP"), a UK-based retail business consultancy.

Established in 1976, FSP provides insight and consultancy services on retail property assets and investments across the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe, working with retailers, investors, shopping centre, retail park and factory outlet centre managers and owners, as well as local authorities.

The company has a strong client base, which includes Ares, Hammerson, Legal & General, Aviva Investors, M&G Real Estate, Bournemouth Borough Council and Fenwick. FSP's revenue for the year ended 31 May 2015 was ?2.1 million and the business employs approximately 20 staff.

The acquisition represents a continuation of St Ives' strategy to further enhance the range of specialist consultancy services available to its clients. FSP will operate as a subsidiary of St Ives within its Strategic Marketing segment, working closely with Pragma, one of the Group's consultancies, which specialises in retail and consumer markets as well as airports and commercial spaces.

FSP will continue to be managed from its current location in Buckinghamshire by its existing management team, which includes John Fell, Ken Gunn and Jo Hewson.

Matt Armitage, Chief Executive of St Ives, commented: "With its results-driven approach and experience working with retail property professionals and retailers, FSP is an excellent fit for the Group, in line with our stated strategy of acquiring complementary, ambitious and growing Strategic Marketing businesses that share our common attributes and ethos."

Tom Holt, Chief Executive of Pragma Consulting, commented: "We are extremely excited with the FSP acquisition and look forward to working closely with the team. FSP provides a highly complementary dimension to our current Airports, Travel and Commercial Spaces Division and our retail clients will also benefit from their wealth of experience. "

Commenting on the acquisition, Jo Hewson, MD of FSP, said: "Joining St Ives, a strong and diversified Group, will not only ensure that FSP continues to offer the independent insight and advice that our clients rely upon but will also allow us to benefit from a wide range of synergies and depth of skills.  The opportunity to work closely with Pragma is especially exciting and will enable FSP to continue to expand its present range of services and clients across Europe and beyond."