Charlotte Street Partners

This article is part of the Lobbying Portal, a sunlight project from Spinwatch.

This article is part of the Revolving Door project of Spinwatch.

Charlotte Street Partners is a strategy and communications consultancy based in London and Edinburgh. It was launched in January 2014.

Political schmoozing

As well as being very well connected to Scottish politics, Charlotte Street Partners also enjoys social relationships with the political class in Holyrood. Hospitality recently provided by the firm includes:

• Alex Salmond attended a reception hosted by Charlotte Street Partners on 19 June 2014. It is not known who else attended, including any of the firm's clients.
• Charlotte Street Partners organised a 'Dinner ‘In Conversation’ with Nicola Sturgeon' in January 2015
• Dinner with Alexander Anderson special adviser to the Scottish government for 'Infrastructure, Investment and the Cities and for Rural Affairs, Food & Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform'. The dinner with Charlotte Street Partners, which was registered in March 2015, took place at Contini Restorante on George Street in Edinburgh.
• It also treated Malcolm Fleming, senior special adviser to the Scottish government for Energy, Enterprise & Tourism and for Fair Work, Skills & Training, to dinner at the 'Press & Journal' Energy Awards in Aberdeen (also registered in March 2015).
• Colin McAllister, Head of Policy and Special Adviser to Nicola Sturgeon also had dinner on Charlotte Street Partners (in partnership with Edinburgh Airport). The occasion was a speech by Michael O'Leary on 'Ryanair's New Direction' at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh (registered October 2014).
• Derek Mackay, Minister for Transport and Islands also met with Malcolm Robertson of Charlotte Street Partners on 23 March 2015.

Spinning for business

In 2015, Charlotte Street Partners' Chris Deerin contributed to a publication on the topic of 'The Good Corporation and its role in modern society' sponsored by SSE and with a contribution from Tim Montgomery. Deerin wrote in a piece entitled: 'Profit and virtue: Refashioning the contract between society and business':

'The simple fact is that the contract between capital and society that sustained for the latter part of the 20th century and into the early years of the 21st has been destroyed... how do we refashion that contract?

There is talk of a new ‘double bottom- line’: profit and virtue. What is this? Building public trust in your wider intentions, deeply rooting yourself in the community around you, looking after and listening to your employees, putting in place responsible remuneration structures, being a good corporate citizen not to tick a box but because it is in everyone’s interests that you be one, paying your fair share of taxes. In this view, companies are cultural entities as well as economic ones. The way they behave sets a tone, reveals their true priorities and motivations, speaks to the nature of our wider society and the kind of people we are and want to be. In return, the good company seeks public permission to create wealth, make healthy profits and grow.

He goes on to talk about SSE's efforts to address this challenge. He also quotes Adam Smith, who 'while applauding commerce for its contribution to prosperity, justice and freedom, also worried about the moral character of merchants and manufacturers, and what could be done to keep them in line.'

[Smith's] appeal to our shared humanity, should form the basis of how we reconstruct our liberal capitalist system, of how we build the good society. The Good Corporation must, surely, be at its heart,' he concluded.

Scottish Lobbying Guide

The lobbying guide published by Unlock Democracy, the Electoral Reform Society and Spinwatch, Holyrood Exposed: A Guide to Lobbying in Scotland in October 2015 identifies Charlotte Street Partners as one of the most established lobbying firms in Edinburgh, especially, it contends, with its links to Kevin Pringle, former SNP chief spin doctor and Alex Salmond's top adviser; in other words, 'a man with a decent contacts book'.

The guide also reveals that Charlotte Street Partners has undertaken 'high-level schmoozing' of politicians, arranging dinners with Scottish National Party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, as well as special adviser Malcolm Fleming and head of government policy Colin McAllister. The board of the firm also boasts some familiar names: Angus Grossart, chair of the government's infrastructure investment body and former vice chair of RBS as well as former head of communications at RBS Andrew Wilson, who is also a former SNP MSP.

Worryingly enough however, the firm does not currently disclose any of its lobbying clients, raising serious questions as to who actually benefits from their having such an extensive contact book.

The company are also involved in the campaign to bring fracking to Scotland, working on behalf of Cluff Natural Resources. The company's founder, Algy Cluff, has warned of the deleterious economic impact that the Scottish government's ban on fracking will ensue, and even threatened to withdraw his investments in underground coal gasification. This was all coordinated along with Charlotte Street Partners dinners with Nicola Sturgeon's infrastructure and energy advisers at Contini Ristorante, although what exactly was discussed is not know.

Services

According to their website, Charlotte Street offer five services:

• Financial communications,
• Political and regulatory affairs,
• Crisis communications,
• Governance,
• Integrated corporate communications strategies.

People

Board

• Sir Angus Grossart, chairman. Chairman and executive director of merchant bank Noble Grossart and former vice chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
• Andrew Wilson, managing partner and founder. Scottish National Party MSP from 1999 to 2003, where he served as shadow minister on finance, economy and transport and then economy and lifelong learning. More recently, Wilson has worked at WPP, at the Royal Bank of Scotland as the communications and deputy chief economist and a columnist for Scotland on Sunday.
• Malcolm Robertson, managing partner and founder. The son of former Scottish secretary Lord Robertson, he spent twelve years in senior positions at airport operator BAA including its communications director and been head of comment at the Telegraph Media Group, former political editor of the Daily Record and former columnist and leader writer at Scotland on Sunday. Since 2011 he has run his own strategic advisory company, MGWR Limited, representing clients in the banking and airports sector, as well as international private equity firms and infrastructure investors.
• Roland Rudd, non-executive director. Founder of huge PR firm RLM Finsbury, related to Conservative energy minister Amber Rudd and close to a number of senior Labour Party members.
• James Murgatroyd, non-executive director. Managing partner of the London RLM Finsbury office.
• Johnny Hornby, non-executive director. Chairman, CEO and founder of The & Partnership.

Staff

• Mary Teresa Rainey, non-executive director. Executive chairman of digital agency TH_NK and founding partner of advertising agency Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R.
• Kevin Pringle, partner. 'King of spin' for Alex Salmond from 2007 to 2012 and strategic communications director of the Scottish National Party until July 2015. Also worked for Centrica as Scottish Gas corporate affairs manager.
• Chris Deerin, partner. Former columnist at the Daily Mail, head of comment at the Telegraph Media Group, executive editor of Scotland on Sunday and political editor of Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail. Currently writes a weekly column for the Scottish Daily Mail.
• Sharon Ward (née Ward), partner. Former vice president of DDA PR, business report at the Sunday Herald, special adviser to the Rt Hon Donald Dewar, business editor at Scotland on Sunday, reporter at The Scotsman and speech writer and research in the Scottish Parliament.
• Robert Ballantyne, associate partner. Former head of corporate communications at brewers Scottish & Newcastle plc (before the Carlsberg/Heineken takeover), head of the group communications team for travel operator Stagecoach Group plc and deputy chairman of financial PR business Cardew Group. He's also worked as a journalist, for fifteen years at The Times, The Scotsman and the Sunday Times.
• David Gaffney, associate partner. Has worked for PR company Beattie Media and as head of media relations and public affairs at a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
• Rachel Osborne, head of marketing and business management. Has worked as an executive assistant in the drinks, travel and media industries and for Scottish law firm Brodies LLP.
• Laura Leslie, associate. Has worked in the Scottish Widows, Lloyds Banking Group and Bank of Scotland public affairs team. She is on a six month secondment to Charlotte Street from TSB.
• Andrew Pyle, associate. Currently on a six month secondment to Charlotte Street from TSB.
• Chris Sibbald, associate. Actively involved in student politics, Sibbald ran the successful Charles Kennedy for Rector election in 2011, in 2012 he worked as a researcher in the House of Commons for the SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson and was a columnist for the Glasgow Guardian.

Clients

Charlotte Street do not currently (as of July 2015) declare their clients or staff on the registers of the Association of Professional Political Consultants, Public Relations Consultants Association, UK Public Affairs Council or the Government's new Register of Consultant Lobbyists.

• UK Green Investment Bank; Charlotte Street Partners was paid £90,000 over July and August 2014
• FirstGroup plc - in July 2014 Charlotte Street issued a press release of a study on the tourism industry in Scotland on behalf of First Group.
• Cluff Natural Resources, cited on a May 2015 press release
• Abellio (rail, bus and tram operator), cited on a June 2015 press release.
• Havelock Europa; Charlotte Street provide financial PR services to Havelock Europa.

Scottish referendum

• Scottish referendum - it was thought that Charlotte Street, Weber Shandwick and Grayling were among the front runners to handle the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The six-month contract was expected to be worth up to £10,000 a month. In March 2014 it was announced Golley Slater had won the contract, worth between £25,000 and £50,000 over six months.

Events

In April 2015, Charlotte Street organised an event in Edinburgh with Lord Ashcroft as the guest speaker. Ashcroft criticised the repeated attacks on Ed Miliband and the reputation they had given David Cameron and he rejected Labour and Liberal Democrat criticism of his constituency polling. Ashcroft said that despite public opinion viewing Cameron as the better Prime Minister and the Conservative's as the better party for the economy, the party are also seen as nasty and the personal attacks at Miliband have not helped this opinion.

At the event Ashcroft, through information obtained by his polling company, predicted defeats for big names including Lib Dem Treasury secretary Danny Alexander, former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy, Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander - all of which came true.

Affiliations

Frame Creative

In October 2014, Charlotte Street joined forces with Glasgow-based Frame and experienced PR man Stephen McCranor to form Frame Creative, a consumer PR firm. The firm will be run by McCranor and came about from discussions after Frame were employed to create and run the Charlotte Street website. McCranor, who worked alongside Charlotte Street co-founder Malcolm Robertson at Beattie Media in the 1990s, was invited to join the discussions and said 'it was a no-brainer for me - when people like this ask you to a party, believe me, you party with them'.

At the launch, the agency announced two major clients, Greaves Sports and Finsbury Foods. They began working on Greaves' Christmas campaign and work with Finsbury started early in 2015.

Contact

Email: info@charlottestpartners.co.uk

Website: http://www.charlottestpartners.co.uk/index.html

Twitter: @cstreetpartners

Edinburgh

Address: 16 Alva Street

Edinburgh

EH2 4QG

Telephone: 0131 516 5310

London

Address: 15 Rathbone Street

London

W1T 1NB

Telephone: 0207 079 3921