Independent research companies Fiftyfive5 and GalKal will merge to create Australia’s largest and fastest growing, independent, insights-led consulting business.
The combined business will have offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore, a team of 115 and more than 130 clients across 40 countries serving multiple industries including financial services, telecommunications, FMCG, media and entertainment, social and government and healthcare.
The combined business recorded a 28 per cent lift in year-on-year revenue in 2017/18.
To facilitate the merger and help with further investment in talent, technology and capability, private equity firm Mercury Capital has invested in the combined business.
Philosophically and culturally aligned, Fiftyfive5 and GalKal combined will offer current and new clients a business with scale, proven processes and offers to deliver commercially impactful customer insights, across a broader geographic reach, with deep expertise and the best talent in the industry.
The current leadership of both businesses will continue to drive the new combined entity.
Fiftyfive5 founding partner Mark Sundquist said: “We are really excited about the opportunities the merger with GalKal delivers and feel are we are now even better positioned to help our clients get the customer to the heart of their decision making.
GalKal co-founder Brent Wallace said: “These two successful businesses are stronger together and offer clients unparalleled expertise in insight-driven strategies.”
Mercury Capital’s Oliver Tompkins said the firm decided to invest in the combined business as it was attracted to the strong growth profile, the high-quality teams, the long-term client relationships and the opportunity to support the business continue to grow via a number of exciting initiatives.
“We are really excited by the quality of both of the teams at Fiftyfive5 and GalKal and about the opportunities in front of them.
“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,” Tompkins said.
The two businesses will implement a staged integration over the next 12 months to ensure no disruption to clients and that the combined assets of both businesses are optimally leveraged.
Capabilities include:
- Opportunity identification across categories and markets
- Insights-driven brand and communications strategy
- Company and brand innovation
- Performance measurement including: CX, voice of the customer, Brand and communication
- Shopper and category strategy
- Strategic pricing
- Advanced analytics and data visualisation
- Cultural forecasting and trend identification
- Social and Government
