Horizon PR
Public-relations company set up by Breakthrough Media and M&C Saatchi, used on the RICU contract
| Horizon PR Limited
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Private limited company |
| Founded | 16 March 2015 |
| Defunct | 20 August 2019 |
| Headquarters | 36 Golden Square, London |
| Industry | Advertising and public relations |
| Parent | Joint venture of Breakthrough Media Network Ltd and M&C Saatchi |
Horizon PR Limited was a London public-relations company incorporated on 16 March 2015 and dissolved on 20 August 2019.[1] The Guardian reported that Breakthrough Media Network Ltd set it up as a joint enterprise with M&C Saatchi, and that it promoted civil-society groups as part of Breakthrough’s contract with the Home Office unit Research, Information and Communications Unit. Journalists contacted by Horizon were not told of that contract.[2]
Company
Company number 09491072. Status dissolved. Type private limited company. Nature of business 73110, advertising agencies. Registered office: Company Secretary, 36 Golden Square, London W1F 9EE, the M&C Saatchi address.[1] Last accounts were made up to 31 December 2017.[1]
The Guardian quoted an M&C Saatchi spokesman: “Horizon was created to support the public relations of civil society groups, voluntary organisations and NGOs who want to drive positive social change.”[2] The paper reported that Horizon promoted the work of community groups under Breakthrough’s RICU contract, that journalists were not told the groups were being represented as part of that contract, and that Breakthrough said there was no obligation to disclose the government’s involvement.[2]
A later account says the directors included Breakthrough’s Robert Elliott and Scott Brown alongside figures from M&C Saatchi World Services, and that Horizon briefed journalists at a police cordon.[3] The cordon claim is that account’s. The Companies House appointments of Elliott and Brown are on the filing.[4]
People
Scott Wayne Brown and Robert Stephen Elliott, directors of Breakthrough Media, were appointed on 30 June 2015 and resigned on 31 January 2016.[4] Andrew Simon Blackstone, appointed on incorporation, is also a director of M&C Saatchi PR Limited at 36 Golden Square.[5] The officers page still listed Blackstone, Molly Hooper Aldridge and Marcus Edward Peffers as active at dissolution.[4]
| Name | Appointed | Resigned | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Simon Blackstone | 16 March 2015 | — | April 1969 | British |
| Molly Hooper Aldridge | 30 June 2015 | — | March 1976 | British |
| Marcus Edward Peffers | 30 June 2015 | — | October 1969 | British |
| Scott Wayne Brown | 30 June 2015 | 31 January 2016 | March 1978 | British |
| Robert Stephen Elliott | 30 June 2015 | 31 January 2016 | September 1982 | British |
Relation to RICU
RICU’s favoured contractor was Breakthrough Media Network Ltd. A Breakthrough document seen by The Guardian said the objective was to “influence online conversations by being embedded within target communities via a network of moderate organisations”. Horizon was the press arm of that arrangement: it placed stories for the groups, without telling reporters that the work sat inside the RICU contract. Breakthrough Media was renamed Zinc Network Limited on 2 March 2020, after Horizon had already been dissolved.Companies House, ZINC NETWORK LIMITED overview Companies House, accessed 5 October 2026.
See also
Breakthrough Media Network Zinc Network Research, Information and Communications Unit M&C Saatchi Prevent
External links
Horizon PR Limited at Companies House Inside Ricu, The Guardian, 2 May 2016
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Companies House, HORIZON PR LIMITED overview Companies House, accessed 5 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ian Cobain, Alice Ross, Rob Evans and Mona Mahmood, Inside Ricu, the shadowy propaganda unit inspired by the cold war The Guardian, 2 May 2016.
- ↑ Restore Britain, RICU: The Home Office's £70M Propaganda Wing Aimed At You Restore, 24 June 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Companies House, HORIZON PR LIMITED officers Companies House, accessed 5 October 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, M&C SAATCHI PR LIMITED officers Companies House, accessed 5 October 2026.