The Stock Exchange has handed its lobbying contract to APCO Associates,
ending a five year relationship with Rowland Sallingbury Casey.
Six firms pitched for the account, which has expanded from RSC’s
‘monitoring and occasional advice’ brief to include more strategic
input.
Simon Milton, managing director of APCO UK said the agency had a
‘thinking role’: ‘The Stock Exchange has very good contacts with a
number of politicians but is constantly looking for different ways to
communicate effectively.’
The Stock Exchange declined to reveal who pitched alongside APCO and RSC
three weeks ago, though Westminster Strategy, Grandfield and Bruce
Naughton Wade are thought to have been in the running.
The Stock Exchange faces a touch battle at home in its bid to develop a
new electronic order driven trading system. However, its focus is
increasingly outside the UK and public affairs manager Cliff Grantham
pointed to what he called APCO’s ‘impressive international focus’.
