Beattie builds up North American presence

Public relations agency Beattie has stepped up its presence in Canada with the launch of a specialist “crisis communications” operation.

The move comes just two months after the Scots-founded firm announced a merger with British Columbia-based Tartan Group to form Beattie Tartan with offices in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria.

Beattie, which is Londonheadquartered these days with 12 offices in the UK and Ireland and some 130 employees, said it was aiming to become “the most trusted crisis management advisor in Canada” with the launch of the Only Reputation boutique.

Director Chris Gilmour said: “We have firmly established the pedigree of Only Crisis in the UK and expanding into Canada with Only Reputation was the next obvious step.”

He added: “Crisis management is a big fee earner for us in the UK and we expect it to become a valuable source of income in Canada.”