{"id":2180599,"date":"2026-10-12T09:13:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T08:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/northwest\/?p=2180599"},"modified":"2026-10-12T09:13:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T08:13:53","slug":"acquisition-of-manchester-comms-group-will-create-12m-turnover-uk-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/northwest\/news\/2180599-acquisition-of-manchester-comms-group-will-create-12m-turnover-uk-business","title":{"rendered":"Acquisition of Manchester comms group will create \u00a312m-turnover UK business"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Westminster-based communications agency has acquired Manchester\u2019s Social Communications Group in a seven-figure deal that will create a \u00a312m-turnover business.<\/span><\/p>\n

PLMR, has concluded the deal as the centre of gravity in British government shifts from Whitehall to the English regions as Prime Minister Andy Burnham sets up No10 in the North in Manchester and pushes for more devolved powers for the regions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social Communications Group also has significant offices in Leeds and Liverpool and is known for its work in infrastructure, housing, placemaking, regeneration and devolution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Its clients are working in close partnership with directly elected mayors, combined authorities and devolved settlements that the rest of England is now being asked to follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social has worked with every established mayoral combined authority in the North, having supported the Convention of the North group of northern mayors, civic and business leaders for six years, and has also delivered major campaigns, conferences and investor engagement initiatives for Greater Manchester Combined Authority, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, South Yorkshire Combined Authority, Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.<\/span><\/p>\n

The deal brings together 110 colleagues, working from offices in Westminster, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry, Ipswich and Glasgow.<\/span><\/p>\n

It gives clients senior counsel a short walk from Parliament and equally senior counsel in the city regions where decisions are now being taken and money spent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social was founded by John Quinton-Barber in the winter of 2012 in Sale, with the ambition of transforming communications in housing, placemaking, regeneration and infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n

It grew up alongside Greater Manchester\u2019s devolution deal and says it has become one of the North of England\u2019s best known agencies, with a video and design capability and a client roster spanning infrastructure providers, housing associations, developers, local authorities and universities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social\u2019s clients include Lovell, Extra MSA Group, Caddick Developments, JLL, Allia, and Sustainability for Housing, The Growth Company, Fusion 21 and The City of Liverpool College.<\/span><\/p>\n

They will join a PLMR Group client roster that already includes Jet2, Moderna, Pip & Nut, the Royal Veterinary College, Adecco and Booking.com, adding further depth across sectors spanning major consumer brands, healthcare, education, transport, infrastructure and the wider built environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

John Quinton-Barber continues to lead<\/span> Social,<\/span> has committed to the business for a minimum of four years, and joins the PLMR Group operational board. Social will trade as \u2018Social, part of the PLMR Group\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

John Quinton-Barber said: \u201cI started Social because I believed our industry could do communications in housing, placemaking and regeneration better, and because I wanted to build a business rooted in people, communities and speaking fluent human.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFourteen years on, I could not be prouder of what we have built and, most importantly, the brilliant team who have built it with me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He added: \u201cGreater Manchester showed the country what happens when decisions are taken by people who know the place, and the devolution agenda has had a significant impact across the North in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur clients have been embracing place-based working for years. The rest of England is now catching up, and with PLMR we can take what we have learned here to clients wherever devolution reaches.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI have great respect for PLMR. Kevin has built an exceptional independent communications business and, the more time I have spent with him and the wider PLMR team, the more convinced I have become that we share the same values, ambition and belief in looking after our people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis feels like a genuine partnership and a coming together of two businesses that can make each other stronger.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am genuinely excited about what comes next. I\u2019m not stepping away from Social – far from it. I\u2019m looking forward to working with Kevin and the PLMR team to build the next chapter together and to see just how far we can take it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kevin Craig, founder and CEO of PLMR Group, said: \u201cEvery agency in this country is facing a market that is changing faster than its business model. Some will wait to see what happens. We have chosen to build something with the scale and the range to shape it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPower in this country is moving out of Westminster. Under this Prime Minister, decisions on housing, transport, skills and growth are going to the mayors and the city regions, and Manchester is the template.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat people have started calling Manchesterism is now national policy. Clients need advisers who understand both ends of that relationship: the Whitehall departments that set the framework and the combined authorities that spend the money. Very few agencies can offer both. From today, we can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He added: \u201cSocial has been on our radar since 2017, the year PLMR made its first acquisitions, and I finally picked up the phone to John in early 2025. His is a remarkable business with real integrity, deep roots in Greater Manchester, infectious energy and a very clear sense of what it wants to deliver for clients. I have also been struck by his deep regard for the team he has built, their welfare, and their careers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur ambition for the group is to reach \u00a320m of income and to be one of the most successful and best regarded independent communications agencies in the country, known for client impact and values, and as much at home in Manchester as in Whitehall.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Westminster\u2019s public affairs and PR agency in seven-figure swoop for Social Communications Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217725,"featured_media":2180600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120783],"coauthors":[46761],"class_list":["post-2180599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-featured-story","tag-greater-manchester"],"yoast_head":"\nAcquisition of Manchester comms group will create \u00a312m-turnover UK business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Westminster\u2019s public affairs and PR agency in seven-figure swoop for Social Communications Group\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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