Exclusive: Former Portland boss launches new City comms firm
The former head of Portland’s financial PR division has launched a new communications firm aimed at providing bespoke advice for City businesses.
Steffan Williams, who left Portland at the end of 2020, has teamed up with fellow public relations guru Louise Nicolson to start a boutique consultancy based in London.
Williams Nicolson has so far built up a roster of six clients, including recruitment giant Robert Walters and legal services firm Ince Group.
Its model is centred on addressing specific business needs, such as adapting to cultural or regulatory change, closing major deals and expanding.
Williams said the new company was a “client-centric” business that would offer tailored advice across overlapping sectors.
While UK marketing budgets have been slashed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, many PR firms have benefitted thanks to higher demand for financial and crisis communications.
“People want better quality advice when things are bad,” Williams told City PM “It’s a receptive market.”
Williams Nicolson will operate with a small team of senior staff members, all of whom will hold an equity stake in the company. It has set up offices in Shoreditch.
In October City PM revealed that Williams planned to step down from Portland to start his own venture after serving two years at the public relations stalwart.
During a career in PR spanning more than two decades he has founded his own agency and held senior roles at City firms Newgate and Portland. He is also vice chairman of industry body the PRCA, having served three years as chair.
Nicolson, a former journalist, also boasts a long career in communications. She founded and sold her own business in Scotland and has published a book on entrepreneurship.