PLMR buys Manchester's Social to build a £12m comms group with a northern backbone

PLMR has bought Social, the Manchester comms agency, and says the combined business will be a £12m independent communications group. PLMR's own headline frames it neatly: as power moves north, so does it.

It is a deal that makes a lot of sense on paper. PLMR was founded in London in 2006 by Kevin Craig and built its name in public affairs and political communications. It crossed £10m in fee income for the first time in the 2024 PRWeek rankings. Social brings what PLMR has been chasing for a while: a proper footprint in the North of England.

Who is Social?

Social launched in Sale in April 2013, founded by John Quinton-Barber, a former IPB Communications director, and Caty Cartwright, a former journalist and Manchester City Council press officer. It began in property, energy and retail, and later dropped "Communications" from its name to become simply Social.

Today it describes itself as an integrated comms agency with teams in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and London. Its services run from PR and public consultation to stakeholder engagement, photography, video and ESG communications. Named clients include JLL, Westminster City Council and the New Homes Quality Board. Late last year it put its own headcount at 25.

Why now

PRWeek, which broke the story, ties the move to the devolution agenda and the growing weight of political decision-making outside Westminster. That fits a pattern. PLMR opened PLMR Midlands in 2025 and, last month, hired a former aide to Andy Burnham as a senior political adviser. Buying a Manchester agency with planning, housing and regeneration clients is the next logical step.

It is also PLMR's sixth deal. It bought Mango Marketing and Snapdragon Consulting in 2017, Advent Communications and Genesis in 2021, and Healthcomms Consulting in 2022, folding each into the PLMR Group under its own regional or specialist banner.

The announcement photo features PLMR MD Ollie Lane, Kevin Craig and Social board directors John Quinton-Barber, Racheal Johnson and Becki Ord. Deal terms were not disclosed in the coverage we have seen.

For founders of specialist regional agencies, the lesson is simple. A buyer with a national brand and a clear geographic gap will pay attention to the agency that already owns the relationships in that region.

Thinking about who would value your agency's regional strength? Start a confidential conversation with Agencies.co.

Sources: PLMR, PRWeek, Place North West, Social, PLMR About