The owner of one of Britain’s biggest independent advertising and communications groups is kicking off a £100m auction.

Sky News understands that Lake Capital has hired bankers at Lazard to run a sale of Engine Group.

The process comes seven years after Lake Capital, a private equity investor, invested in Engine and combined it with two of its existing portfolio companies: ORC International and Trailer Park.

Engine Group creates ad campaigns for some of the UK’s biggest consumer brands, including Warburtons, whose latest campaigns have featured the Hollywood actors George Clooney and Robert de Niro.

The Royal Navy and Sky, the immediate parent company of Sky News, is also an Engine client.

The group also owns a public relations agency, MHP, which handled the communications for Sir Philip Green’s former high street empire, Arcadia Group, prior to its collapse late last year.

A number of industry players and financial investors are expected to examine bids for Engine Group, with private equity firms having become increasingly active in the sector in recent years.

Engine is structured under three divisions – Creative, Communications and Transformation – and a break-up of the group has not been ruled out.

The industry remains dominated by a handful of larger players such as WPP Group and Publicis Groupe, but has seen ‘new economy’-focused holding companies such as S4 Capital, founded by Sir Martin Sorrell, emerging in the last three years.

An Engine spokesman said: “We are exploring future options for Engine UK’s growth and strategic direction; these could include a formal sale process or a third party investment.”

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