{"id":416078,"date":"2017-09-08T07:58:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T07:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2017\/09\/08\/pr-firm-bell-pottinger-nearing-collapse\/"},"modified":"2017-09-08T07:58:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T07:58:53","slug":"pr-firm-bell-pottinger-nearing-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/09\/08\/pr-firm-bell-pottinger-nearing-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"PR firm Bell Pottinger \u2018nearing collapse\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bell Pottinger\u2019s Asian unit has said it will separate from its British parent, amid reports the public relations firm is nearing collapse.<\/p>\n

Bell Pottinger\u2019s UK business is expected to go into administration as early as next week, the firm said.<\/p>\n

The Asian business will begin trading under a new name \u201cin the coming days\u201d.<\/p>\n

The PR firm was\u00a0expelled from the industry trade body\u00a0after being accused of stirring up racial hatred in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s Asian business is seeking to distance itself from the scandal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Asia business is entirely ringfenced and solvent,\u201d Asia Chief Executive Ang Shih Huei said in a statement sent to clients on Friday seen by the BBC. \u201cOur teams are intact, we continue to serve our clients and it is entirely business as usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell Pottinger Asia said it would soon re-launch with a new ownership structure and operate under the name Klareco Communications.<\/p>\n

Nearing collapse<\/h2>\n

Late on Thursday an announcement was made to UK staff saying the firm could go into administration next week, according to the Financial Times and other media outlets.<\/p>\n

The meeting was attended by a representative of accountants BDO, hired to advise on a potential sale, reports said.<\/p>\n

However, BDO did not respond to a BBC request for a comment.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s founder, Lord Bell, who resigned last year, has admitted to the BBC that it is probably \u201cnear the end\u201d.<\/p>\n

Risk-takers<\/h2>\n

A string of big names have already cut ties with the firm since it was expelled from the Public Relations and Communications Association earlier this week.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s work on the campaign for Oakbay Capital, a South African company owned by the wealthy Gupta family, was accused of inciting racial hatred.<\/p>\n

Bell Pottinger and its founder, Lord Bell, have a reputation in the PR industry for taking risks.<\/p>\n

The firm represented the South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorious\u00a0after he was charged with murder.<\/p>\n

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has used the firm\u2019s services, as well as Syria\u2019s first lady Asma al-Assad.<\/p>\n

In the late 1990s the PR firm worked on a campaign to release the former Chilean dictator, General Pinochet,\u00a0who had been arrested in London\u00a0on a warrant from Spain requesting his extradition on murder charges.<\/p>\n

Lord Bell, who founded Bell Pottinger in the 1990s, resigned last year, partly due to his unease with the company\u2019s deal with the Guptas.<\/p>\n

When asked on BBC2\u2019s Newsnight this week if he thought the PR company would survive the scandal, he replied: \u201cI think it is probably getting near the end.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bell Pottinger\u2019s Asian unit has said it will separate from its British parent, amid reports the public relations firm is nearing collapse. Bell Pottinger\u2019s UK business is expected to go into administration as early as next week, the firm said. The Asian business will begin trading under a new name \u201cin the coming days\u201d. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":416079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-416078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\nPR firm Bell Pottinger \u2018nearing collapse\u2019 - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2017\/09\/08\/pr-firm-bell-pottinger-nearing-collapse\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"PR firm Bell Pottinger \u2018nearing collapse\u2019 - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Bell Pottinger\u2019s Asian unit has said it will separate from its British parent, amid reports the public relations firm is nearing collapse. 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