Sale of Award-Winning Wayfinding Company Advised by Thrings

Swindon partners from leading commercial law firm Thrings have secured the sale of award-winning UK wayfinding design company The Holmes Wood Consultancy Limited to the Benoy Group, an internationally renowned design and architecture brand.

Holmes Wood, which designs and delivers original wayfinding schemes and graphic design services, was founded by entrepreneurs Alexandra Wood and Lucy Holmes in 2000. 

Based near Battersea Park in London, the company has provided unique wayfinding solutions to some of the UK’s best known museums, including the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Modern and the Arnolfini in Bristol.

In 2015, the company walked away with three prizes under the ‘Wayshowing’ category of the International Institute for Information Design (IIID) Awards for its work on Oxford Brookes University, Imperial War Museums and the University of Greenwich. It also counts Virgin Atlantic and easyJet among its major clients.

The buyer, Benoy Group, is the parent company of renowned architectural, interior and graphic design company Benoy, established in the UK in 1947 and now operating in over 80 countries.

The business is best known nationally for its work on the Bluewater retail park in Kent, the £1.6 billion Westfield regeneration scheme and the Battersea Power Station renovation project currently underway in London. Acclaimed international projects include over 1,100 Marks & Spencer stores worldwide, Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi and Parc Central in Guangzhou, China.

Acquiring Homes Wood continues Benoy Group’s expansion into complementary business areas, central to its vision of becoming a multi-boutique practice offering visionary design solutions.

Thrings corporate partner Simon Hore, senior corporate partner John Davies and trainee solicitor, David Geller advised Holmes Wood on the corporate aspects of the deal.

Simon said: “Holmes Wood’s world-class wayfinding and signage skills make the perfect addition to the Benoy Group’s design business. Thrings is delighted to have advised Alex and Lucy on all legal aspects of the transaction and we are glad to have met the tight timescales involved. We wish Holmes Wood continued success in the future as part of the Benoy Group.”  

Advising on the financial aspects of the deal were corporate finance specialists, Watersheds.

Wendy Lam, partner at Watersheds, said: “This deal was all about finding the right buyers for our clients; somebody who understood the business and appreciated the potential it has to grow and, more importantly, an organisation who had a cultural fit.”

Pictured: Thrings Senior Corporate Partner John Davies (left) with Corporate Partner Simon Hore (right).