Handley House, parent company of leading commercial creative design studio Benoy, has concluded the purchase of Canadian retail design firm GH+A Studios.
Aligning with Benoy’s vision, GH+A provide clients a combined, integrated creative solution offering that will make GH+A the commercial design studio of choice for developers, landlords and retail brands in Canada and the Americas. With over 30 years of retail design experience, GH+A have offices in Montreal (Quebec) and Detroit (Michigan), and design for an international market with a strong focus on customer experience and outstanding performance.
Benoy, celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year, is a global family of design specialists delivering world class creative and commercial solutions for the built environment with studios in the UK, US, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.
Between them, Benoy and GH+A have over 100 years of retail design experience and have always enjoyed a positive working relationship. By aligning the two businesses, clients and staff will benefit from market data and analytics, market trends and insights and shared resource to take advantage of complementary skills in our design teams.
Commenting on the announcement, Tom Cartledge, CEO said:
“I have long wanted to build our capability in Americas, which started with the opening of our LA studio in 2018. Since then, we’ve had to contend with various challenges, not least a global pandemic, which have delayed our growth in the region. However, as we emerge from the past few years, there are more opportunities around the world to partner with clients who need our services. I am thrilled to welcome GH+A into the group and am excited about what the future holds for us in Canada, North and South America.”
Paola Marques from GH+A Studios commented,
“We are delighted to join the Handley House group and look forward to supporting Benoy’s mission to garner more opportunities in North America. Our existing positive relationship with the Benoy team coupled with our shared vision for providing cutting edge creative and commercial solutions for our clients makes this partnership a natural transition for us as a business.”
GH&A Studios will be led by Paola Marques, alongside her global Benoy counterparts – Jamie Webb, head of EMEA; Terence Seah, head of Hong Kong, Singapore and Shenzhen; and Qin Pang, head of Shanghai.