West Midlands group in buy-out

West Midlands consultancy Zappia & Zappia has bought out Birmingham’s Levells Design.

The deal, which took effect on Monday, involves all five Levells staff joining the existing 19 employees at Zappia & Zappia in Hagley, Stourbridge.

Zappia & Zappia, a 13-year-old graphics consultancy which specialises in corporate communications, now has claims to be one of the largest consultancies in the Midlands. The purchase price is not being disclosed. Levells Design managing director Mark Levell becomes one of four directors in the new set-up.

Levell claims that an increase in the workload at the consultancy prompted him to look for a merger for the eight-year-old consultancy, and he was attracted by Zappia & Zappia’s investment in information technology.

“By combining forces with Zappia, our critical mass means that we can enhance the service to clients,” he says.

Zappia & Zappia director Julijana Zappia says Zappia & Zappia has been considering expansion for some time: “In the end we opted for the buy-out route since it enabled us to acquire an established and experienced team and a ready-made client base.

“When we met Levells the chemistry was right. It was a very profitable little company and had the specialist skills we wanted.”

Zappia says the acquisition will allow the group to develop its Website design and multimedia offer to clients.