PA Consulting in the UK has acquired Design Partners, a product design and innovation agency based in the IDA Business Park in Bray.
Design Partners was founded in 1984 and was owned by Annette Stephens, Brian Stephens, Diarmuid MacMahon, and CEO Trevor O'Reilly.
Brian Stephens (66), founder and non-executive chairman of Design Partners, stated: “As one of two original founders of Design Partners over 35 years ago, I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved to date. Now is the time for the team to look to the decades ahead and write their own future.
“I am delighted that in PA we have found a partner that is so clearly aligned with what we care about and worked hard to achieve,” added Stephens (pictured).
Trevor O’Reilly commented: “PA’s experience in amplifying design with science and engineering, conceiving, and delivering ingenious new products and services will magnify our capabilities. Together we can provide our clients with an exceptional full suite design and innovation offering.”
In Association with
Design Partners has an international client base across the consumer, technology and healthcare sectors.
The company says it brings specialist expertise in product strategy, design for sustainability, wearable technology, human interaction devices, and medical device design.
Customers include Logitech, Cosmed, Cricut, Beyerdynamic, Jameson and Honeywell. Its Viscero ECG Vest design was also named on Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards 2022.
Design Partners Ltd booked a net profit of €1.7m in 2021. Ahead of the PA deal completing, the company paid shareholders €4m in dividends.
Net worth after the cash distribution was €2.3m, and period-end trade debtors were €1.45m.
The company had 37 people on the payroll last year, including five directors.
Headquartered in London, PA Consulting Group is led by CEO Ken Toombs and employs c. 4,200 staff. The business reported FY21 revenue of c. £690m.
Ken Toombs commented: “We are so pleased to welcome Design Partners' multidisciplinary team of designers and engineers to PA Consulting. Their focus on integrity, exceptional people, excellence, and innovation complements PA’s own values.
“Design Partners' ethos of being able to create the future, as opposed to simply imagining it, directly aligns to our mission of building a positive human future.
“This partnership will extend our design capabilities, further enhancing our ability to deliver the most ingenious products, solutions and experiences for our clients.”
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
According to Renatus, a KPMG team led by David O’Sullivan alongside David Murphy and Maria Traynor advised Design Partners. RBK is general business advisor and auditors of Design Partners. The firm took legal counsel on the deal from LK Shields.
