Zurich/Frankfurt am Main/Munich, 2 June 2023 - With GFD FinanzKommunikation, one of the leading German consultancies for financial communication and sustainability with offices in Frankfurt am Main and Munich has joined Team Farner. With komm.passion, Kirchhoff Consult and GFD, three German agencies are now part of the European management consultancy for integrated communication. Internationally, Team Farner now has 18 brands and more than 600 professionals in five European countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Great Britain, the Netherlands) with a total turnover of around 100 million euros.

Jasmin Dentz, Managing Director of GFD, is looking forward to the new opportunities and potential in the pan-European network: "Thanks to our convincing know-how as well as our profound capital market understanding and network on both the investor and issuer side, we are trusted by international asset managers, banks and financial service providers as well as listed companies or those planning a capital market transaction. We are very much looking forward to offering this expertise in Team Farner across Europe in the future as part of an integrated advisory approach."

GFD FinanzKommunikation has developed into a specialist in investor relations, public relations and sustainability over the past 25 years. "Our clients value our deep strategic capital markets expertise as much as our hands-on mentality when it comes to daily challenges," says Managing Director Peter Dietz. "With our offerings in the area of sustainability, we support numerous companies in positioning themselves in a strategically sensible way and in being able to meet the sometimes very complex regulatory requirements," adds Jasmin Dentz.

In addition to the area of investor relations / ESG, public relations services, especially for asset managers, banks and fintechs, form the second communicative focus of GFD FinanzKommunikation. "Very long-standing client relationships testify to GFD's performance in this area," says Managing Director Joachim Althof. "Established events such as the Munich Investment-Stammtisch and Hedgework, the event platform for alternative, digital and sustainable investments that belongs to GFD, underline the company's leading position in this industry," adds Managing Director Uwe Lill.

With GFD FinanzKommunikation as a new partner, Team Farner is further expanding the fields of financial communication and sustainability. "The fields are growing dynamically and they continue to grow together across Europe," says Prof. Dr. Alexander Güttler, who is driving the expansion in Germany as a member of the Team Farner Management Board. GFD FinanzKommunikation will strengthen the finance and sustainability expertise already existing in Team Farner through Kirchhoff and enrich it with further impulses. Negotiations with agencies from the finance and sustainability sector are currently underway in other European countries as well. The goal is to be able to provide fully integrated advice to all economically and politically relevant stakeholders in these areas and to support them operationally and strategically in all facets - with offices in all important European financial centres. With the expertise of Kirchhoff and GFD FinanzKommunikation, Team Farner Germany will assume a leading position in ESG & Sustainability and will use this strong foundation to support and drive cross-selling as well as thematic integration throughout Team Farner.

Team Farner was formed in 2021 from the partnership between Swiss market leader Farner Consulting AG and Waterland Private Equity, which specialises in European buy-and-build strategies. The goal: to build the European market leader for integrated communications consulting. The German market is of particular strategic importance for Allianz. Roman Geiser, Executive Chairman of Team Farner: "We are not an anonymous agency network. Our DNA is entrepreneurial. We focus on an agile, independent cooperation of established partners who combine their strengths as a collective and offer clients the optimal solution. More agile, more integrated and more independent."

About Farner International / Team Farner

Farner International is an alliance of leading consultancies that view communication as a key factor in organisational success. The international agency alliance carries the brand "Team Farner". The group is led by successful communication entrepreneurs and partners who are themselves active in the consultancy business. As an international team of the best minds, Farner combines all disciplines of communication such as strategy, reputation management, sustainability communication, branding, brand management, change & transformation support, corporate communication, public affairs, marketing communication, behavioural science, advertising, digital and CommTech. Farner is present in the most important markets and capitals. Farner International's roots are in Switzerland, where Farner is the market leader in integrated communications. Founded in 1951, Farner is one of the most established and oldest communication brands in Europe.
teamfarner.com

About GFD FinanzKommunikation

GFD FinanzKommunikation is one of the leading consultancies for financial communications in the German-speaking market. The consulting focus is on public and investor relations, sustainability (ESG) and corporate publishing. International asset managers, banks and financial service providers as well as listed companies and IPO candidates rely on GFD due to its convincing know-how and deep understanding of the capital market, both on the investor and issuer side. GFD was founded in 1995 and brings together a unique team of communications experts with many years of relevant experience in journalism, investor relations, public relations, ESG and consulting.