Andersen arm teams up with Real Time

Andersen Consulting is outsourcing its design arm to creative digital consultancy Real Time Studio.

All 25 staff at Creative Design Services will move to Real Time, which will handle the management consultancy’s design, print and production requirements for the next five years for the UK and Western Europe.

No money has changed hands. “We have not paid for the business, we have taken on all the liabilities of the staff,” says Real Time managing director Phil Jones.

Real Time specialises in designing and managing websites, producing annual reports and creating CD-ROMs.

It was selected over eight companies including Wolff Olins, WPP Group, Uffindell & West, Wace Group and AMV.

“It means a very secure client and… strengthens my team,” says Jones, who spent 500 000 on freelances last year. He could not disclose how much the contract would be worth to his company.

Andersen Consulting, the world’s biggest management consultancy, expects productivity benefits and cost savings.

From 1 July CDS’s staff and equipment will be absorbed into Real Time, with its creative director John Thompson heading up the Western European region.

Part of the team will be based in Andersen Consulting’s Paris office. Jones also plans a satellite office in Frankfurt.