Fresh blow to Prince Andrew as his business faces closing down for good
THE flagship business enterprise of Britain’s Prince Andrew is hanging by a thread after his close friend, a Swedish billionaire, quit and the company’s offices shut.
Sports tycoon Johan Eliasch has stepped down from Pitch@Palace Global after about 15 staff resigned in a year, leaving only an accountant to oversee what is left of the company in an administrative role.
A spokesman insisted that it “remains in a pause position while its future direction and strategy is determined” rather than being shut down for good. However, there are no plans to relaunch the Dragons’ Den-style initiative in the foreseeable future, “in fact, the opposite”, a source said, as it emerged that even its ownership was under review.
Any decision to wind up the project, one of Andrew’s sole remaining business interests, would come as a blow to the beleaguered royal, who has come under fire due to his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The initiative, which brokered deals between tech start-ups and wealthy investors, was thrown into disarray by his disastrous Newsnight interview in November 2019, after which its charitable arm was wound up as corporate sponsors withdrew support.
The global arm, a private limited company, continued however, albeit with all references to Prince Andrew removed from its home page.
What remained of the brand was moved out of its Buckingham Palace base to a nearby office space in London.
However, even that has now been abandoned and the office address of its accountant, a tax specialist, is now the only one on file. There had been a tentative plan to relaunch this spring with a new name, Pitch Connect.
But with the prince’s reputation still hanging in the balance over his relationship with Epstein, and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, it was deemed impossible.
Accounts published last week reveal that at the end of last March, Pitch@Palace Global’s assets had reduced from £3,125,398 to £1,495,737. The business held £1.2m in cash and employed 15 people, although all but one have now resigned.
Mr Eliasch, who runs sports goods company Head, has remained one of few loyal friends who have stuck by Andrew through a string of scandals.
In 2011, amid mounting controversy over the Andrew’s decision to visit Epstein in New York, Mr Eliasch was one of several business leaders to sign a public letter praising his “good work”. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2021)