Engine , the UKs largest privately-owned communications group, today announces the acquisition of Mischief , PR Weeks Consultancy of the Year.
Set up in January 2006 by Managing Director Mitchell Kaye, Mischief has 42 staff based in London. Under the leadership of Kaye and Creative Director Daniel Glover, Mischief scooped PR Weeks top award in October, becoming the youngest ever company to do so. Mischief will merge with Engines existing consumer PR & experiential agency, Slice and will move into Engines UK HQ at 60 Great Portland Street, London.
 
The new business will keep the Mischief name, boast 75 staff from the outset, and be led by Kaye. Slices first class events team led by Will Mould will retain its name and become an enhanced experiential offering which the business also plans to significantly grow. Kaye and Glover will be joined in the leadership of the integrated agency by Slice Creative Director Miranda Mitchell and Will Mould who leads the experiential team.
 
Debbie Klein, Engine UK CEO, said: The acquisition of Mischief delivers our strategy of bringing best in class brand communications under one roof. Mischief has made an incredible impact in the market and arrives with a strong track record and reputation for doing great work. We are excited about the potential to develop the business and about the addition that Mischief will make to our integrated offer.
 
Mitchell Kaye, Mischief CEO said: Mischief was created to achieve fame for its clients, and in doing so, to become the best agency in the country. The next stage for us is to take our work and put it on a much bigger stage. Engine offers a world-class, global platform and we are excited to join the group and work closely with so many talented people within it, while continuing to stamp our philosophy on the communications world and generate even greater fame for our clients. Peter Scott, Engine Chairman and worldwide CEO said: The acquisition of Mischief is the latest example of Engines accelerating worldwide growth.
 
In the last year we have expanded into the US market with the creation of Engine USA and the acquisition of Deep Focus and Noise. We bought financial services PR specialists Penrose, which became part of our corporate business MHP. We bought the Jam team out of i-level and have expanded it significantly; and we bought CVL, merging it with Digital Public to create Engines management consultancy, Transform. The arrival of Mischief in our family continues Engines incredible growth in the PR market, from 3 million in revenue just four years ago, to 25 million today and a strong place in the top-ten.
 
Sacha Deshmukh, who leads PR across Engine and is also CEO of Engine PR business MHP said: Engines PR capability is now unrivalled. Engine is the undisputed number 1 in digital PR. With the strength of Mischief now alongside MHP, we have the very best expertise in every type of PR audience and right across the full suite of PR channels. Mischief clients include Unilever (Ben & Jerrys, Lynx, Impulse), QVC, BAA (Heathrow), Electronic Arts, Zizzi, New York Bakery Co, Ellas Kitchen, General Motors (Chevrolet), esure and Sheilas Wheels. In October 2010, Engine announced a significant investment in the business by an affiliate of global private investment firm H.I.G. Capital. As well as continuing growth in the UK, Engine is now replicating its full-service model across other key markets, including in the USA, China, Brazil and selected European countries.