US Consultancy Capitalizes on Global Counsel Collapse with Senior Staff Hiring Spree
Tuesday 10 March 2026 11:28 am – A little-known American advisory firm is poised to hire up to a quarter of the senior leadership team from the collapsed lobbying group Global Counsel, amid what insiders describe as a "feeding frenzy" for top talent left jobless by the ignominious downfall of the Peter Mandelson-founded agency.
Capstone's Strategic Expansion into UK Market
Washington-headquartered Capstone expects to confirm as many as 20 senior hires in the near future, as part of a concerted push to plug the gap left by Global Counsel in the UK advisory market. The move comes after a client exodus forced Global Counsel to shutter operations last month, plunging the once-respected political consultancy into administration.
Capstone has already secured six UK-based political advisers, including Global Counsel's head of European corporate advisory, Daniel Capparelli, and EU healthcare lead, Emma Eatwell. Additionally, the firm has hired three consultants in Brussels, with leadership anticipating more recruits to join them shortly.
The Epstein Files Scandal That Triggered Collapse
Global Counsel had been one of London's most respected political consultancies before emails released in the so-called Epstein files revealed the sex trafficker played a prominent role in the agency's infancy. References to the agency appeared over 800 times in exchanges between Epstein and his associates published by the US Department of Justice in January.
Peter Mandelson and his co-founder Benjamin Wegg-Prosser were shown to have regularly sought advice and network connections from the convicted sex offender between 2010 and 2012, years after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. The revelations plunged the agency into crisis, leading blue-chip clients including Standard Life, Bank of America and Tesco to sever ties.
Despite veteran chief executive Wegg-Prosser stepping down in a bid to contain the fallout, the agency was ultimately put into administration by its board last month, creating a sudden vacuum in the UK consultancy landscape.
Competitive Scramble for Talent and Clients
The rapid chain of events has sparked a hiring spree to secure both Global Counsel's clients and staff, many of whom possess over a decade's experience in this burgeoning sector of UK consultancy. FGS Global, a London-headquartered communications shop owned by US buyout giant KKR, has already scooped up several senior partners, including Wegg-Prosser's successor as chief executive, Rebecca Parker, and financial services lead Matthew Conway.
Public relations boutique Hanbury has also secured several senior hires, but US-based Capstone has emerged as a surprising frontrunner in the battle for staff, despite having little prior presence or track record in British lobbying. Originally established in Washington as an investment advisory firm, Capstone has since expanded into policy consultancy and what it terms 'enhanced government relations.'
"An Incredible Opportunity" for European Expansion
"This was an incredible opportunity for us to expand the corporate category of what we do in Europe, and also to radically expand the government relations offering, which we had already planned to do, frankly," David Barrosse, Capstone's co-founder and chief executive, explained.
"For us we immediately saw all these leaders from Global Counsel, and it was a feeding frenzy for sure, and we're biased, but we think we won that contest," Barrosse added, highlighting the competitive nature of the recruitment drive.
Attractive Prospects with Immediate Client Access
The speed of Global Counsel's collapse left several of the failed agency's major clients in limbo, with significant projects only half-completed. Barrosse noted that Global Counsel staff are particularly attractive hires because, unlike traditional recruitment scenarios, there are no restrictive covenants preventing them from bringing former clients on board immediately.
"These were, in most cases, clients that are in the middle of important work they were doing with Global Counsel that, frustratingly, ended abruptly," he said. "So they were like, I need you to finish this work no matter where you are. I need you to finish this work because it's related to work that we need to get."
The situation has created a unique window for consultancies like Capstone to rapidly expand their European operations while acquiring experienced professionals with established client relationships, all without the typical barriers that accompany such strategic hires.
