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A Manchester communications agency, which has worked with the likes of Cadbury's owner Mondelez International, Deloitte and Krisby Kreme, has become 100% employee-owned.

Founded more than 20 years ago, MC2 has now made every member of its 35-strong team a shareholder in the business.

Jonathan Saatchi, Diane Barker, Liam Buckley, Lucy Giles, Ellie Spellman and Sarah Harris will form MC2’s executive board, with Mike Perls stepping into the role of chair and Jenny Morgan acting as non-executive director.

Mr Perls said: "This is the most significant moment in our 21-year history. The move to a full employee ownership model is one that, I believe, will take this brilliant business to a whole new level.

"I’ve never enjoyed working more than right now and I’m genuinely excited to see where we can all take MC2 over the coming years.

"We have always benefited from outstanding partnerships with our clients, many who have been with us for a significant part of the journey to date, and I’m certain that our incredible talent will use this platform to reimagine what brilliant looks like in all of our relationships."

An employee ownership trust, This is our MC2, has been established, which holds 100% of the shares of the business on behalf of its partners.

The trust board includes Mike Perls, Sarah Harris and Andrei Mylroie, partner of Washington-based agency Desautel Hege, in a non-executive director role.