LONDON—Mission Marketing Group has acquired the UK's Speed Communications from Writtle Holdings.

The deal will see Speed merge with Mission subsidiary Bray Leino to create a £5m PR agency which will retain the Speed branding. The new entity will be led by three managing partners: Kate Bosomworth of Speed, and Alison Weir and Kelly Pepworth of Bray Leino.

In addition, Roberta Fuke of Bray Leino becomes CEO and deputy chairman, while former Virgin PR head Will Whitehorn, who has worked closely with the Speed team for the last three years, becomes non-executive chairman.

Speed currently employs 25 staffers, but has endured mixed fortunes since the departures of founders Stephen Waddington and Steve Earl two years ago. The firm was sold to Loewy Group in 2006, before the latter company was acquired by Writtle Holdings in 2011.

Bray Leino, meanwhile, employs 40 staff in Bristol and London. The new firm will see Bosomworth focus on sports and media, while also serving as operational MD in London. Weir and Pepworth will continue to lead Bristol, while overseeing consumer lifestyle and business/corporate, respectively.  

"By combining the talents of the teams the opportunity to create a major new force in the PR industry is significant," said Fuke. "Combine that with the fact that the culture, approach and ambitions of each consultancy are amazingly similar and it made the decision to merge the two businesses one of the simplest decisions we’ve ever had to make.”