Professional Services Outfit EY Acquires Sweeney Research

EY has moved to acquire one of Australia’s leading market research firms Sweeney Research.

EY Oceania Advisory Leader Bill Farrell said the addition of Sweeney Research, including the company’s CEO Marc L’Huillier and team, to EY’s Advisory practice is an exciting development for the firm.

“This will see EY Australia’s national customer advisory team grow to more than 100 people and become one of Australia’s leading advisors in the area of market research, customer strategy, marketing, sales, service, operations and implementation.

“Delivering robust qualitative and quantitative primary research will enable us to provide our clients with end-to-end services and powerful insights on their markets, and will further inform our advisory services.

“We will be the first professional services firm in Australia and New Zealand to be able to do this on this scale.”

Mr Farrell said in recent years EY had seen an increase in clients’ demand for better, more actionable insights to inform their customer agenda.

“Sweeney Research’s breadth of services including pharmaceutical, fast moving consumer goods and retail – with a focus on public sector and financial services clients – will provide strong support to our existing offerings in these sectors.

“This acquisition will strengthen EY’s ability to help our clients move beyond the design of customer strategies and advise them on the execution of these strategies, particularly in the rapidly growing digital space.

“Sweeney Research’s innovative solutions will help our clients understand their own customers’ digital needs, enabling them to receive real time feedback from customers via mobile devices and online browser interfaces,” Mr Farrell said.

Mr L’Huillier, who will join EY as a partner, said: “We are thrilled to be joining EY.”

“We look forward to working closely with our new colleagues to further enhance client engagements through the use of cutting edge customer insights and to offer our services across the entire EY network,” Mr L’Huillier said.

The acquisition is intended to be completed in October 2014. Sweeney Research will largely continue to operate as a stand-alone entity for the next 12 months.

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