Five roles at risk at public relations agency Powerscourt in London

Five roles are at risk in the London office of Powerscourt, the public relations agency founded by Irish financial journalist turned PR adviser Rory Godson. The agency may also change its name as part of a companywide branding review by its new owner.

A statement from Powerscourt said a review of its cost base and the decision to focus on its highest growth areas had resulted in “a very small number of colleagues being placed at risk” in the London office. Powerscourt’s Dublin office is not affected.

In October 2023 Mr Godson agreed to a deal to sell Powerscourt to New York-based Morrow Sodali, a strategic advisory and shareholder services firm backed by private equity group TPG.

At the time of the acquisition, it had 75 staff based between London and its office in Dublin. Including Morrow Sodali colleagues, the headcount has since risen to 110, with five employees based in Dublin.

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“We are in the middle of a major rebrand and will be moving in with our new colleagues from Morrow Sodali to newly refurbished offices in a landmark City building, trebling the size of our footprint in London,” a spokesman for Powerscourt said.

“Powerscourt has grown every year for the last twenty years and the combination with Morrow Sodali, plus this room to expand, give us confidence in our growth prospects,” he said.

“After bringing the businesses together we have taken the opportunity to review the cost base and focus on our highest growth areas. This has resulted in a very small number of colleagues being placed at risk. This decision has not been taken lightly and we are giving them our full support.”

Shortly after the Powerscourt deal, Morrow Sodali acquired Domestique, a public relations agency based in Sydney. Between late 2022 and the end of 2023, it also acquired Australian corporate communications and investor relations company Citadel-MAGNUS and environmental, social and governance consulting firms HXE Partners and FrameworkESG.

Morrow Sodali, which has more than 500 employees across 14 international offices, is expected to announce details of a branding review shortly.

Mr Godson, who founded Powerscourt in 2004, is a former editor of the Sunday Times Ireland edition. The company advises more than 170 companies, including many blue-chip, FTSE 100 companies. Although the terms of the sale to Morrow Sodali were undisclosed, the deal was reported to value the company at £50 million (€58 million).

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