Manchester-based Inc & Co has been back on the acquisition trail, snapping up luxury bag and accessories brand KNOMO and high street eatery Chop’d.
The new deals also mark the launch of Inc Retail Group, which will add 90 employees to the growing Inc Retail brand.
Chop’d has 13 stores in the UK, including Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, while KNOMO has four partner retailers in Manchester alone.
“The acquisition of Chop’d & KNOMO marks a significant step for us into the retail arena, and I’m proud that both brands have a strong Manchester presence,” said Inc & Co founder and CEO Jack Mason.
“As a customer of Chop’d, I’m looking forward to once again being able to eat out with friends and work colleagues.”
The two acquisitions are the latest for fast-growing Inc & Co, which now has 240 staff and offices in Leeds, London, Bath and Manchester.
Last year the group acquired digital agencies including Skylab, Brass, Neon and Cuhu, plus the on-demand dry-cleaning and laundry delivery platform Laundrapp, data specialists MyLife Digital and sports data agency Insight Analysis.
Inc Retail Group will be headed up by Dan Shaw, who has been brought on board as MD of the retail group.
Shaw, a former board director at Jones Bootmaker, most recently headed up retail innovation at intu shopping centres.
“Dan and I have a unique shared vision for how we believe we can reimagine the high street and he brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience to make that vision come to life,” said Mason.
