GMB Architecture + Engineering acquires South Carolina marketing firm

GMB Architecture + Engineering recently acquired a South Carolina marketing firm in a deal that will differentiate Netherlands-based GMB in the field of building design, executives say.

Both GMB and Greenville, South Carolina-based Up&Up Agency specialize in the education sector. There are no leadership or staffing changes as part of the acquisition, which was completed on November 1.

“This is a big step for us in building more of the professional services ecosystem for our education clients,” said David Bolt, GMB President and CEO. “We had a lot of our existing clients who were already starting to ask us if we could help them with communications, PR and those types of services and branding. We saw this as a really unique differentiator in our industry.

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Founded in the Netherlands, GMB also has locations in Grand Rapids, Royal Oak and Indianapolis. The architecture firm had 175 employees before acquiring Up&Up, adding another 13 employees to the company.

Up&Up has customers in 25 states, providing an opportunity for GMB to expand its reach across the country, Bolt said.

Up&Up focuses on helping colleges develop brand strategies that attract and retain students. The company will continue to serve its existing customers throughout the United States

“I am very excited about this strategic acquisition of Up&Up by GMB,” said Adam Landrum, CEO of Up&Up. “By combining our higher education-focused brand and marketing services with those of GMB, we are beginning an exciting new chapter in building a full-service education company to advance our clients and the education industry as a whole.”

Adding marketing to GMB’s offerings will also help with its K-12 bond projects, Bolt said.

“Talking about marketing, communications and branding alongside building design services makes a lot of sense, especially in the education market where a lot of what we see is how well you can connect with the communities you’re a part of – that’s really important,” Bolt said. Marketing to us allows us to continue expanding pre-bond communications for these clients, and this is a huge opportunity we see.”

Zweig Group, a Fayetteville, Arkansas-based firm that specializes in advising architecture and engineering firms, served as advisor to GMB on the acquisition.

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