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13-April-2010
Engine acquires Penrose Financial

Engine, the UK's largest privately owned integrated communications group, today announces the acquisition of Penrose Financial, the leading public relations consultancy specialising in financial services and capital markets.

The acquisition takes Engine's annual revenues in PR to over £19m, making Engine a top ten group in the UK PR market.

Engine has acquired 100% of the share capital of Penrose. The Penrose Partners, together with a number of senior personnel at Penrose, will become Engine shareholders as a result of the deal.

Penrose is the UK's premier PR consultancy focused on serving clients in the financial services and capital markets sectors.  It becomes part of Engine's suite of corporate affairs companies, which includes both the Mandate and Hogarth PR brands. 

Penrose's expertise grows Engine's ability to deliver integrated corporate, financial and public affairs consultancy to the financial services sector. Joining Engine will enable Penrose to deepen the scope of advice and services offered to clients, and participate in Engine's plans to develop its presence internationally. 

Engine was advised on the deal by Ingenious Media.

Peter Scott, Chairman and Joint Chief Executive of Engine said: "Penrose perfectly complements the expertise in Engine's Hogarth and Mandate businesses and the teams will work very closely together. We have known Penrose for several years and this acquisition adds to Engine's fast-growing strength and scale in the PR and corporate affairs market." 

Gay Collins, Chief Executive of Penrose said: "We see this as an exciting step in Penrose's ongoing development that will enable us to fulfil our ambitions of taking our business to the next stage of growth. Engine is a highly dynamic, independent and multi-disciplinary marketing and corporate communications group and, as part of it, we will be able to accelerate our ability to deliver a broader offering. Similarly, our international objectives become more immediately achievable and can be shaped to our clients' specific needs.

She adds: "We are immensely proud of the Penrose brand we have created over the last 12 years.  Engine provides a home in which we can maintain the strengths that have built Penrose, but also where we will offer new skills for clients seeking a broader mix of services. We look forward to working closely with colleagues at Engine to continue to deliver high level strategic advice, and excellent tactical delivery, to our existing and future clients. Our commitment to clients will continue to remain at the heart of Penrose's approach going forward."

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:

About Engine
Engine is the UK's largest and fastest growing independent communications company.  Engine employs more than 600 people, containing a family of best in class communications businesses serving the consumer market, the corporate market and the public sector.  Engine is an employee-owned business, with one in five staff owning shares in the company. 

www.theenginegroup.com

Penrose Financial was established in 1998 and is an award-winning specialist PR consultancy for the international financial services and capital markets industries. Penrose's core focus areas include pensions advisory, institutional fund management, retail financial services, alternative investments, private equity, investor services, banking, capital markets and research. Penrose is the leading PR consultancy to specialise exclusively in these sectors and its clients include many of the foremost global financial institutions and service providers, including leading UK pension funds.

www.penrose.co.uk

For more information:

Sacha Deshmukh
Engine
Tel: 020 3128 8117
Mob: 07525 225911
Sacha.deshmukh@theenginegroup.com

Gay Collins
Penrose
Tel: 020 7786 4882
Mob: 07798 626282
gayc@penrose.co.uk