The Core was founded in Hull in the early 1990’s by Alistair Whiteley. Whilst his co-founder left the business, Alistair continued to grow The Core and in 2006 brought Nick Green in as Managing Director. Nick had worked with the team on numerous occasions in his prior role managing various brands within Unilever. Subsequent to Nick’s arrival the profitability of the business grew significantly to c.£800k on turnover of £3m. The Core’s focus remained with packaging design but has broadened to include more innovation work and as a result they are increasingly involved at an earlier point of the product development lifecycle. Key clients included Virgin Atlantic, Unilever, Asda and Lloyds Banking Group.
We began working with Nick Green and The Core, advising on their options to accelerate the growth of the business and make the most of international opportunities. As a result of understanding that Hornall 
Anderson, a Seattle based design agency under Omnicom ownership for the previous 5 years, was seeking a European presence, we engaged in more detailed discussions with DAS – Omnicoms holding company for specialist agencies. Omnicom acquired the whole business with a structured earn-out transaction.
Whilst we continue to celebrate our agency’s history with our longstanding client partners and employees, we are really looking forward to setting sail on this next exciting adventure and being part of DAS and Omnicom. We are honoured to be joining the group –one of the largest and most respected agency networks in the world. Our ambition is to continually improve our business while exploring ways we can mutually benefit from geographic reach, expertise and client base. We will continue to strive to deliver exceptional, relevant work and provide our clients with the high level of personal service they have come to expect.
Alistair Whiteley, Creative Director and Founder of Core Design
Dear Lawrence, Thank you for everything you have done for The Core this year. It is a landmark year for our business. Much much appreciated. The future is more than bright.
Nick Green, Managing Director of Core Design
