As we begin 2026, we’re taking a considered step forward for Keane.

We have joined Capel Group as a founding member, a global collective of independent, founder-led agencies and specialist consultancies. It’s a move that reflects both confidence in what we’ve built over the past 30 years, and ambition for where we want to go next.

Most importantly, it’s a step designed to strengthen what we can offer our clients, without changing who we are.

The Collective Advantage

The reality of today’s market is that brands and developers increasingly need depth, agility and global perspective, but not at the expense of focused expertise, experience and local knowledge.

Capel Group brings together a small number of complementary, non-competing agencies across the UK, Middle East, Asia and Australia, with further expansion planned. Collectively, this gives us access to broader expertise, international insight and specialist capability that would take years to build alone, while avoiding the compromises of traditional networks

For Keane, it means we can collaborate selectively and intelligently, only where it adds genuine value for our clients and projects. All without any impact to our current cost base or our fees.

What this unlocks for our clients

Being part of Capel Group strengthens Keane in very practical ways:

Greater depth, when needed
Through the Capel network, we can draw on specialist expertise across areas such as communications, brand strategy, sustainability, employer branding and digital, alongside our own hospitality and F&B capabilities. This allows us to build stronger, more holistic teams around complex briefs without diluting leadership or accountability – but only where it’s required and where it adds value.

Global reach, without global bureaucracy
Capel connects us to over 200 experienced practitioners across multiple international markets. For clients operating across regions, or looking to expand, this brings local insight and delivery support, while Keane remains your single point of contact.

Founder-led senior involvement
A defining principle of Capel Group is direct access to stable, senior teams. This mirrors how Keane already works and ensures that any collaboration maintains the same level of experience, judgement and care our clients expect.

Future-ready thinking
Through initiatives like the Capel Consultancy and the Capel Academy, the group is investing in specialist thinking, innovation and talent development. For our clients, this means sharper insight, more informed decision-making and teams that continue to evolve with the industry.

Remaining unmistakably Keane

Keane remains fully independent. We retain our leadership, our culture, our ways of working and our focus on hospitality-led strategy and design. You’ll continue to work with the same team, with the same level of commitment, quality and rigour that defines our relationships today.

This is not a merger or a buy-out. Capel Group is a partnership model built deliberately around founder-led agencies – businesses where experience, decision-making and accountability sit at the core. That alignment was fundamental to our decision to join.

A confident step forward

This move reflects our belief that independence and collaboration are not opposites, when done properly, they reinforce each other.

By joining Capel Group, Keane gains greater reach, perspective and capability, while remaining focused on what we do best. For our clients, it means the same trusted relationships, strengthened by access to a wider network of expertise when it genuinely adds value.

It’s a confident step into the year ahead, and one that positions Keane to keep raising the bar for our clients and projects, and makes us excited about what’s to come.