Alastair Campbell’s PR company suffers setback over Qatar contract

A City PR firm that counts Alastair Campbell among its advisers was recently dealt a blow after the Qatari Government failed to pay millions of pounds on time.

Staff bonuses at Portland Communications were paid almost a year late amid pressure on finances caused by the delay.

The public relations company, founded by Tim Allan, a former adviser to Sir Tony Blair, was hired by Qatar as part of its charm offensive around the Fifa World Cup in 2022. Portland acted on behalf of the Middle Eastern country when it was facing allegations of human rights abuses such as wage theft, forced labour and exploitation.

The agreement cemented Qatar as Portland’s largest client before the pair parted ways in late 2023, but the £3m partnership was tarnished by late payments. It is understood bonuses paid to disgruntled staff earlier this year were around eight months late.

A source close to the firm said all debts have been recovered.

A PR executive at another London agency has claimed that Portland had fallen for the allure of high-paying contracts in the Middle East, adding that it was a “trap that many agencies are falling into”. Among the firms courting riches in the Middle East is Teneo, the professional services firm that lobbies on behalf of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. It owns Heathrow airport and Newcastle United Football Club.

In 2014 Portland faced criticism for setting up a sports blog that attacked critics of Qatar’s controversial World Cup bid.

One of the authors of the blog at the time was Mr Campbell, Sir Tony’s former spin doctor.

He joined Portland in 2012 and remains a senior adviser there.

The importance of Portland’s brief for Qatar led to it opening an office in Doha 10 years ago. It has some 20 employees. As well as working on the World Cup, Portland also built up a range of other clients in Qatar, such as Expo 2023 and the Qatar Foundation.

Portland’s financial challenges have coincided with the company recently suffering an “absolute exodus” of staff in recent months, City sources said, including Victoria Dean, its chief executive, and Philip Hall, its managing director, City sources said. George Pascoe-Watson, its former chairman, left the business last year to set up a new consultancy venture at law firm Schillings. It marks the latest overhaul at Portland, which was sold for £20m by Mr Allan to global consultancy firm Omnicom 12 years ago.

Mr Allan was Sir Tony’s deputy press secretary from 1994 to 1998 before becoming director of communications at British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite broadcaster.

The sale of Portland, which he founded in 2001, landed Mr Allan a reported payout of around £10m.

Portland’s ties to New Labour led to accusations in 2016 that it was behind a “sinister” attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader. The Unite union said it had spearheaded an “orchestrated coup”. Portland rejected the claims.

Company filings show that Portland posted £4.14m in profits in 2022 from revenues of £33.5m, employing almost 300 staff worldwide.

It has offices in Paris, Brussels, Washington, Nairobi and Singapore and its headquarters are in London.

A Portland insider said: “The Qataris are good for their word and good for their money. All’s well that ends well.”

The Qatari government was contacted for comment.

Portland declined to comment.