Seren is a UK-based leader in international digital design and innovation of customer service and experience, which works with leading firms across a number of sectors, in particular, telecoms and financial services.
EY has plans to grow its global strategy consulting services to over 2,500 professionals by 2020, both organically and through continued acquisitions, and has progressed this rapidly already with a particular focus on its client’s digital transformation agenda. This acquisition follows others in related areas, such as Bedrock (a service design boutique in North America), Parthenon (the US/UK strategy consultancy) and Sweeney, a leading customer insight consultancy in Australia.
Commenting on the acquisition, Steve Varley, EY’s UK Chairman says: “This acquisition is a flagship transaction for EY in the UK. We’re already achieving considerable organic growth in the UK advisory business - it grew 15% last year - but we are also committed to looking for opportunities for inorganic growth, especially when we find firms with cutting-edge innovation and a really strong talent pool like Seren.
“London, and the wider UK, is fast becoming a global leader in technology and digital innovation. The acquisition of Seren brings together EY’s world-class brand and global reach with Seren’s leading digital consulting capabilities and innovation. I’m really excited about what we can achieve together.”
David Gittleson, EY’s EMEIA Head of Advisory for Financial Services, comments: “The expectations of today’s consumers have been shaped by digitally native companies that offer simple and intuitive customer journeys for their products and services. More traditional companies, that weren’t born into the digital age, are now working hard to catch up. We’ve been working alongside Seren for a number of financial services clients with impressive results, and I look forward to working with them as colleagues to achieve cutting-edge customer service and experience for our clients and their customers.”
Seren and its 60 employees will remain in the heart of London’s entrepreneurial business district in their Silicon Roundabout premises. Ben Langdon will continue as Chief Executive of EY-Seren as a partner at EY in the UK. Catriona Campbell and Terry Heath the co-founders of the business will continue as senior advisors to EY in the UK and the EY-Seren team.
Ben Langdon comments: “Seren and EY have been working together for the last year on a number of shared client projects. The success we have achieved as a combined team prompted both companies to consider how we can work together more closely and we’re really pleased to be joining forces formally. We’ve spent the last 14 years developing market-leading design for customer service; joining EY will give us the opportunity to apply our collective skills to a broad range of blue-chip clients around the world.”
EY-Seren will now begin the development of an EY-Seren practice in the Middle East. This builds on the foundations that both EY and Seren have already developed in digital strategy and customer experience services across the Middle East.
About the acquisition
The acquisition of Seren has been made by Ernst & Young LLP, an EY member firm serving clients in the UK.
About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. EY UK refers to Ernst & Young LLP, an EY member firm serving clients in the UK. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
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Hannah Forrester
EY Media Relations
+44 (0)121 535 2997
+44 (0)7931 491 342
HForrester@uk.ey.com
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