MPL and CLK club together in Princedale Group buyout

Design consultancy MPL, formerly the Michael Peters Group, has left the Princedale Group after effecting a management buyout with brand development company CLK.

The buyout is being funded by 3i and the Bank of Scotland and will involve the distribution of shares to staff and directors.

It has not been decided whether the two companies will operate under one name or remain separate. The group’s clients include Bass, British Gas, BZW, Cadbury Schweppes, NatWest, and Sara Lee.

Chris Wood, former managing director of Princedale Group’s marketing services division and chief executive of the new group, says he hopes the companies will work together on joint projects.

The Princedale Group will continue to focus on its two divisions: marketing services – through C&FD, BDP and SWT – and shopfitting.

MPL was one of the first independent design agencies when it was set up in 1970. It became MPL in 1990 when Craton Lodge & Knight bought the Michael Peters Group, with Michael Peters as chairman.

Peters resigned in 1992 and set up the Office of Michael Peters, which eventually became the Identica Partnership.