Finsbury

Finsbury is a London-based PR company specializing in investor relations. It describes itself as providing "an integrated service advising on all areas of communication with the global financial community including financial media, political & regulatory affairs and investor relations." [1]

Finsbury's work on EU political & regulatory issues is done via Finsbury International Policy & Regulatory Advisors

Finsbury was founded in London in October 1994 and in 2001 was taken over to become part of the WPP group.

New Labour links

They paid more than £5,000 to the Labour Party for 'tickets for dinners' in 1999-2000. In 2006 Tony Blair's eldest son Euan did work experience at Finsbury. Private Eye reported:

Roland Rudd, the Finsbury founder and friend of Peter Mandelson, has been cosying up to "new" Labour for many years. In 2001 Finsbury¹s party guests also included the present Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and Education Ministers (and peer) Andrew Adonis, as well as the then Labour party boss, also since ennobled, Lord Triesman.

Finsbury previously hired the former private secretary of the Dear Leader¹s close pal, the Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer. Such contacts and support for Labour events at conference time perhaps helped merit the 2002 contract to advise then Transport Secretary Stephen "Liar" Byers over the Railtrack collapse.

So look out for the pay-off... most likely to come for such a selfless act as explaining to Blair the Younger the dark arts of being paid to lie...^[2]

Finsbury was 75% owned by Roland Rudd, who made £41 million by selling the company to WPP in May 2001. Another two Directors, Rupert Younger and James Murgatroyd, will share another £14 million between them from the sale.

Roland Rudd is the son of a Stockbroker. He was President of the Union at Oxford University and a former journalist with the Independent, Sunday Correspondent and the Financial Times. He is a friend of Peter Mandelson, spending time during the 2001 election campaign to help him at his Hartlepool constituency. Rupert Younger is the nephew of Viscount George Younger (Chairman of the Bank of Scotland). James Murgatroyd is a former banker with Dean Witter.

Staff

Described as 'Partners' on the Finsbury Website

PR contracts for Kazakhmys

Clients

Clients include Cable & Wireless, the HMV Media Group, Abbey National, Trinity Mirror and Lloyds TSB. They have 28 clients in the FTSE 100/Euro 300 list of top UK/Euro companies and they provide PR for more than 10% of the top 200 UK companies.

PR Week also reported that for several years Shell had - and continued to - use the London-based Finsbury to handle financial PR for the company and was also advising on managing the crisis on the overstated reserves. [3]

The company is also retained by British Nuclear Fuels Limited. (BNFL) [4].

Lobbying clients

Lobbying clients, according to the Finsbury website in February 2009 include:^[1]

Bluechip % International / Euro 300 / FTSE 100 / FTSE 250

FTSE 250

Others

Selected Transactions

references

Mark Townsend and Antony Barnett PR firm hired to sell top-up fees Labour rebels outraged at 'abuse' of taxpayers' money as university vice-chancellors acquire services of Mandelson's millionaire friend, Sunday January 18, 2004, The Observer
Antony Barnett and Jamie Doward The PR tycoon, a private dinner and PM's meeting with Euro lobby group Businessmen lobbying for unlimited immigration from Romania and Bulgaria met the Prime Minister at an exclusive London home, Sunday September 17, 2006, The Observer
^ Blair the Younger does work experience with City spin doctors Private Eye, February 6, 2006, Issue 1150
↑ Finsbury website, accessed February 2009
↑ [5], No longer found on Finsbury website February 2009

[1]

[2]

Finsbury

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New Labour links

Staff

Clients

Lobbying clients

Bluechip % International / Euro 300 / FTSE 100 / FTSE 250

FTSE 250

Others

Selected Transactions

references

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