The consulting firm Global Counsel, founded by Lord Peter Mandelson, could be placed under external administration as early as Friday. According to employees, the firm’s leadership disclosed the move against the backdrop of reports detailing the former peer’s links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Several sources inside the company said that board chair Archie Norman and chief executive Rebecca Park told a meeting on Thursday in blunt terms that it was “Peter Mandelson’s legacy” that had become the decisive factor behind the collapse of the business.
Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, a co-founder of Global Counsel and its chief executive, stepped down last week. Almost simultaneously, a number of major clients terminated their contracts after the Financial Times reported that Mandelson had consulted Epstein in 2010 on the firm’s launch.
Documents published by the US Department of Justice also indicate that Wegg-Prosser met the convicted sex offender Epstein in New York while he was under house arrest and discussed Global Counsel’s business plan with him.
Mandelson stepped back from the company’s day-to-day management after being appointed Britain’s ambassador to Washington, but retained a significant stake in the business.
A senior Global Counsel executive stressed that the firm’s collapse was solely linked to Mandelson’s long-standing contacts with Epstein and did not reflect the quality of the staff’s work. “Many highly professional people with impeccable reputations work here—many of them joined only a year or two ago,” he said.
Global Counsel employs more than 100 people across offices in Berlin, Brussels, London, Singapore, Washington and Doha.
Following the publication of the Epstein-related reports, fintech group Klarna, insurer Phoenix Group, Barclays Bank, private equity firm KKR and retailer Tesco all terminated their relationships with the company. Vodafone said it was reviewing its contract.
Pharmaceutical company GSK, which had previously used Global Counsel’s services, said it “does not plan any further engagement with the firm”. The English Premier League has also recently severed ties.