Bell Pottinger has acquired food PR specialist Wearne Associates
and has transferred its clients into the Good Relations Group.
The Wearne brand will be retained as a crisis management specialist.
MD Alison Wearne’s experience in crisis management includes handling
product recalls and industrial relations issues.
The Wearne team of five now reports to Ann Fossey, deputy MD at Good
Relations. Wearne herself will work alongside Fossey on client support
and will head the crisis management unit. She will join the Good
Relations Group board as a director.
Wearne will work with Jeffrey Lyes, chairman of Good Relations, to build
Wearne Associates as the group’s specialist in crisis preparation and
issues management.
Wearne Associate clients such as John West, the British Trout
Association and parts of Ranks Hovis McDougall, including RHM Frozen
Foods and Centura Foods, now join Good Relations’ food roster, which
includes Tesco and sweetener brand Canderel.
The Wearne team has moved from offices in EC1 to Good Relations Group HQ
in Russell Square.
The acquisition sees fees for the Good Relations Group pushed into the
pounds 10 million bracket. The move also follows the recent acquisition
(PR Week, 17 August) by Bell Pottinger of technology specialist Landmark
Corporate Communications, which was also merged into Good Relations.
- Former finance director at the Gibraltar government Anthony Fisher has
joined Bell Pottinger Communications to found an international financial
services consulting practice. The practice will provide communications
and technical advice to Government and Government agencies involved in
international financial centres (IFCs) and corporations using IFCs.
Fisher said his experience in regulatory, tax and legislative issues
would complement Bell Pottinger’s communications expertise.
