The agreement will see Kantar Public become an independent business with no changes to the company’s leadership, staff or products as a result of the change in ownership.

The proposed sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, subject to completion of the relevant shareholder, legal and regulatory processes and employee representatives’ consultations where necessary.

Kantar Public as launched in 2016 and currently operates in more than 20 countries and employs in excess of 700 people.

Chris Jansen, chief executive at Kantar, said: “I am proud of the business we have built together, and most recently the advances in making Kantar Public a truly unique player in the public policy space, at the intersection of data, advisory and technology.

“Under this new ownership structure, the team has the backing it needs to develop its leadership position as the preeminent global expert in the public policy space.”

Dr Michelle Harrison, chief executive at Kantar Public, added: “Now, with our scale and our specialist focus, this is the right time to stand alone, with the support of our new investor Trilantic Europe.

“On behalf of my leadership team, I thank Kantar for its support in what we have achieved to date, and I am convinced that, in Trilantic Europe, we have found the right partner for our new direction and growth.”

Joseph Cohen, founding partner at Trilantic Europe, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Michelle and the rest of the team at this exciting stage of Kantar Public’s journey.

“We are looking forward to working with the team in continuing to build on this impressive growth and supporting them to make further investment in people, capabilities, and technologies.”

New head of evaluation
Kantar Public has also named Alex Hurrell as head of evaluation within its UK evaluation practice.

Hurrell was previously at Oxford Policy Management and has worked in international development and public policy evaluation and research for more than 17 years.

In his new role, Hurrell will help expand Kantar Public’s end-to-end evaluation work.

Craig Watkins, chief executive at Kantar Public UK, said: “Our focus over recent years in our policy evaluation services has been two-fold: first, to put gold standard data and evidence at the heart of our work, and second, through our global Hexis approach, to advise our clients on how behavioural insight can be used to improve policy effectiveness in real time.

“It is a pleasure to have Alex, with his deep, global expertise, join us in the UK to deliver value for our clients and continue our growth journey.”