Spin Wars: PR outfit Tulchan bought by Teneo as City comms battle hots up

PR and advisory giant Teneo has bought comms firm Tulchan, it confirmed this morning.

It represents a sizable expansion for Teneo, with new UK CEO Nick Claydon – formerly senior partner at fellow Square Mile spinner Brunswick – hailing the pick-up as “strengthening our financial and political offer.”

Tulchan – which employs around 70 people in London and Singapore – was founded by Andrew Grant in 2000. He was later joined by Lord Andrew Feldman.

The Tulchan senior team will also be joining Teneo as part of the transaction, reporting into Claydon.

The UK expansion is a welcome shot in the arm for Teneo which saw its founder Declan Kelly resign in 2021 after he became inebriated at a Global Citizen event, and then saw a string of high-profile UK clients take flight.

Alex Hickman, Boris Johnson’s former business adviser, also joined the firm at the back end of the year.

Reports elsewhere suggest the transaction totals something in the region of £65m.

Andrew Grant, Senior Partner at Tulchan, said: “For more than twenty-two years, we have worked hard to build Tulchan into an advisory firm which both served the needs of our clients and of which we could be proud. I would like to thank all of my colleagues, past and present, and all of the clients, and their advisors, for whom we have acted for their support and confidence.”

It is the latest consolidation in the PR, advisory and comms space, with Finsbury – founded by former Remain campaign chief Roland Rudd – recently merging with Sard Verbinnen and Co.

Maitland, which was acquired by Havas in the middle of the last decade, also recently merged with comms firm Cicero, creating another comms power based in King’s Cross.