Tim Bell sounds the death knell for Bell Pottinger
'It’s probably nearing the end. You can try and rescue it but it won’t be very successful,' says the PR firm's founder
UK-based public relations firm Bell Pottinger could be up for sale as its owners explore "all options" to salvage the floundering business. This follows the earlier dismissal of the account executive who handled the Gupta account and the departure of the company’s CEO and significant shareholder James Henderson, neither of which appears to have stemmed the bleeding. A fresh start with new owners could be the only way to salvage the 30-year-old firm, which has been losing clients since its reputation was damaged and it was expelled from the UK’s public relations industry body because of the racially divisive manner in which it conducted the media campaign on behalf of the Gupta family and Duduzane Zuma. It is doubtful, however, whether there will be many interested buyers. Cofounder Timothy Bell told BBC’s Newsnight programme on Monday that the agency was unlikely to survive. "It’s probably nearing the end," said Bell, who formed the company in the 1980s and left in 2016. "You can tr...
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