With £4.5m in debts, Mandelson’s lobbying firm Global Counsel collapsed just before his arrest
The lobbying firm co-founded by Lord Peter Mandelson collapsed owing £4.54 million to creditors, with HM Revenue and Customs left nearly £646,000 out of pocket, according to figures filed on Companies House.
Global Counsel went into administration on 20 February, with documents showing the London-based business had only £2.7 million in assets available for preferential creditors. Administrators at Interpath disclosed that the firm’s employees are collectively owed £2.6 million. Will Wright, UK chief executive of Interpath, said the “rapid and sudden loss of clients” had a “monumental impact on the business.”
The collapse was triggered by the fallout from the scandal surrounding Mandelson’s historical links to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Administrators said the firm suffered a significant financial impact after a swathe of customers cut ties under pressure over its association with the former Labour minister and US ambassador. Directors said they were left with no choice but to bring in administrators, despite having insisted that Mandelson no longer held any shareholding, role or influence over the business.
It has emerged that Mandelson sought Epstein’s advice on setting up the lobbying firm in 2010, the year it was founded. Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, Mandelson’s co-founder, also met Epstein while the financier was under house arrest to discuss Global Counsel’s business plan.
Arrest and Vetting Scandal
The firm’s collapse took place three days before Mandelson was arrested by police. He was taken in for questioning on suspicion of misconduct in public office after allegations that he passed sensitive information to Epstein while serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government. Mandelson was released on bail and has not been charged.
The arrest came against a backdrop of separate controversy over Mandelson’s security vetting for his short-lived appointment as UK ambassador to Washington. Reports indicate he failed the required developed vetting clearance in January 2025, but the decision was allegedly overruled by officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Two key figures are due to give evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee on the matter: Sir Philip Barton, former permanent under-secretary at the FCDO, and Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, who resigned over the appointment.
Client Fallout
Global Counsel had built a roster of high-profile clients including Palantir, GSK, Vodafone, OpenAI, TikTok and the English Premier League. However, in the wake of the Epstein revelations, several major companies ended or reviewed their contracts with the firm, among them Barclays, Tesco and Vodafone.
Mandelson co-founded Global Counsel with Benjamin Wegg-Prosser in 2010 after Labour lost the general election. At one stage he held a 21 per cent stake but stepped down from the board about two years ago. He is not listed as a creditor in the statement of affairs filed at Companies House.
