Hanbury Strategy

Part of the Powerbase Brexit Portal.

Hanbury Strategy is a Conservative-led lobbying firm set up by ex-David Cameron adviser Ameet Gill and Brexit campaigner and former British Bankers' Association director, Paul Stephenson in September 2016. In June 2017, it hired Lizzie Loudon, former press secretary to the Prime Minister, Theresa May.

Writing in the Sunday Times in Sept 2016, the founders say 'on any given issue there are millions who are open to persuasion and that campaigns are the best way to motivate them and lead change'.

Brexit lobbying

According to the firm, it will be providing clients 'quite a lot of Brexit intelligence and Brexit insight'.

It has also been hired by Linklaters to provide the law firm with policy advice 'in connection with the impact of Brexit on their clients’ businesses'. Another law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills has also hired Hanbury Strategy to provide clients with Brexit policy advice. Herbert Smith Freehills is also working with Lord Peter Mandelson's firm, Global Counsel and Boston Consulting Group on Brexit.

Hanbury met with Raoul Ruparel, advisor to David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, on 27 January 2017 to discuss Brexit policy.

Hanbury's Nina Schick spoke at the British German Forum 2017, a Wilton Park conference organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in July 2017. Schick spoke in a session on 'Navigating Brexit: What does the future hold for the UK and Germany?' Schick was also at an event called France Digitale Day 2017, on behalf of Hanbury. The session was called 'BREXIT: Who are the losers? Views from France and the UK'.

Clients

Secret clients

Hanbury is secretive about its lobbying clients. It is not signed up to the industry transparency registers, or the UK official register of lobbyists. When it was established, it said it could not name clients it had secured, but the founders said they include a tech start-up based nearby in East London, and a political campaign group.

Red Tape Initiative

In May 2017 the Red Tape Initiative commissioned Hanbury to conduct 'in house research' and create a 'series of reports' that will be 'presented to the RTI in order to better inform its own campaign and supplement their own research efforts'.

According to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which 'approved' the commission, 'throughout the research project, Hanbury will not be working with other organisations and any work done with other organisations by the RTI, will be independent of Hanbury.

Two of Hanbury's employees work for the RTI.

Campaign of Emmanuel Macron

In May 2017 the Times reported that Gill was providing 'secret advice' to the campaign for the French president-elect Emmanuel Macron. Email correspondence and an invoice from Hanbury Strategy were among a cache of hacked documents. It included an email from Mr Gill to Ismael Emelien, the 29- year-old “right-hand man” of Mr Macron, described by Le Monde as an “essential cog in the campaign”. According to the Times, one email 'stressed the need to keep secret the involvement of Mr Gill and Hanbury', with a message from Emelien saying: “Thank you for keeping this top secret — nobody can see other than [two other campaign aides] you and me.”

Other known clients

Clients known to have hired Hanbury due to the requirement for founder Ameet Gill, a former government adviser, to run his firm's consultancies by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

• Barclays Bank, includes work "in relation to how the decision to exit the European Union will potentially impact the business". From June 2017.
• GSK, hired Hanbury to “provide strategic policy advice to members of GSK’s London office in connection with the implications of Brexit”, according to ACOBA letter.
• Linklaters, to provide the law firm with policy advice “in connection with the impact of Brexit on their clients’ businesses”.
• Herbert Smith Freehills, to provide the law firm with policy advice “in connection with the impact of Brexit on their clients’ businesses”.
• Deliveroo, to provide non-Brexit related short-term strategic communications to the takeaway delivery firm.
• Second Home Ltd, the workspace led by former government adviser Rohan Silva
• Bulb Energy Ltd
• AggregateIQ Data Services Ltd
• KPMG LLP - August 2017
• UK Policy Group -August 2017
• Coalition for Global Prosperity - the Committee’s advice letter was sent in November 2017, and the commission was taken up later that month.

People

• Ameet Gill, founder director
• Paul Stephenson, founder director; ex-Vote Leave pr director; former executive director, external affairs, at the British Bankers' Association; ex-SpAd to Andrew Lansley.
• Lizzie Loudon, former press secretary to the Prime Minister, Theresa May.
• Oliver Lewis, also currently Director of Research at the Red Tape Initiative; ex-research director Vote Leave
• Jonathan Suart, ex-comms manager Vote Leave, former adviser at the British Bankers' Association.
• Simon Evans - Former Head of Government Affairs and Regulation at Osborne & Partners, a low profile firm that describes itself as "an international strategic advisory firm providing governments, corporations and high profile business and political leaders with discreet strategies designed to enhance their reputation, credibility and profile on a global basis". Evans was formerly at Herbert Smith Freehills.
• Alex Hackett, also currently listed as a researcher at the Red Tape Initiative.
• Nina Schick, described as a 'Brexit consultant' at Hanbury. Schick was communications director at Open Europe until September 2016.

Contact

• Website: www.hanburystrategy.com
• Address: Hanbury Strategy, 60-80 Hanbury Street, London, E1 5JL