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Global Counsel, the advisory firm set up by Lord Peter Mandelson, is telling clients it is at an advanced stage of divesting his remaining stake as it attempts to cut ties with the peer.
Mandelson has been the subject of revelations that he passed on confidential government information to the late Jeffrey Epstein and was sent large payments from the convicted sex offender.
Mandelson founded Global Counsel in 2010 with Benjamin Wegg-Prosser and still owns a 21 per cent stake. He stepped down as chair in 2024 and stopped advising the firm when he was appointed Britain’s ambassador to the US later that year.
People familiar with the situation said clients had been assured the process for Mandelson’s divestment was at an advanced stage after the firm told them in September that it would be cutting ties with him. They added that it could be finalised in days or weeks.
Two other people close to Global Counsel countered that the Mandelson divestment process had been complicated and already had drawn out longer than implied in the autumn.
A deterioration in relations between Wegg-Prosser and US investor Jim Messina, partly over the Mandelson scandal, has also prompted Messina to begin a separate process to exit his 20 per cent stake in Global Counsel, according to people with knowledge of the situation. A new outside investor could dilute Wegg-Prosser’s influence on the firm he founded and still owns between 25 and 50 per cent of, according to Companies House.
Global Counsel, which provides reputational advice, lobbying and geopolitical insights to multinational companies, has been trying to distance itself from Mandelson since emails emerged in September revealing how he urged Epstein to “fight for early release” after being charged with soliciting a minor.
However, the firm’s name is present in a significant number of emails sent by Mandelson to Epstein, released in recent days by the US Department of Justice, as they were sent from his Global Counsel email address.
The emails show Mandelson took advice from Epstein on how to structure a potential deal to sell Global Counsel to Lazard, the boutique investment bank at which Mandelson was also a senior adviser at the time.
On January 11 2012, Mandelson emailed Wegg-Prosser saying “JE [Jeffrey Epstein] suggests Lazard sd [sic] buy less than 50% now with the obligation to buy the rest over some period less than 5 years using a formula to be determined today.”
Wegg-Prosser replied saying “that is basically the plan. We have a draft term sheet”. He then asked Mandelson to ask Epstein “what’s his view on price” and included figures such as “2m revenue, 600k profit, 30% margin — budget hit Q1 targets already”.
Mandelson forwarded the email to Epstein, with the line “What do you think?” — to which the disgraced financier replied “it should be 8 to 12 earnings”.
A person familiar to Global Counsel said that Wegg-Prosser was not seeking Epstein’s views and was not in direct communication but was seeking to understand the full context of a discussion with his chair. A potential deal between Lazard and Global Counsel did not end up taking place.
Mandelson was a senior adviser of Lazard in 2011 before being made chair of the international arm in 2012. He ceased having any involvement with Lazard in 2022. Mandelson is reported to have been introduced to Lazard by his friend Nat Rothschild, who worked for the bank in the mid-1990s.
One person close to the company said Rothschild since September had expressed interest in an offer to buy Mandelson’s stake in Global Counsel, but Rothschild declined to comment and there is no suggestion that there are live discussions with him.
Two people familiar with the situation said such an attempt by Rothschild would have been blocked by Global Counsel’s board due to Rothschild’s previous well-known links to Mandelson and a desire for the board to cut all ties entirely with Mandelson.
Further emails show Wegg-Prosser forwarding messages directly from Mandelson to Epstein, including a statement drafted by the peer relating to his relationship with the sex offender. A person close to Global Counsel emphasised that Wegg-Prosser had not been giving guidance to Epstein. Another email shows Wegg-Prosser requesting Epstein’s mobile number to provide access to password-protected documents.
On Christmas Day 2010 Epstein had emailed Mandelson saying that “Lazard will help my own and Global Counsel’s brand”.
That same day Mandelson, who was UK business secretary at the time, had suggested to Epstein encouraging the boss of JPMorgan to “mildly threaten” chancellor Alistair Darling over the banker bonus tax. JPMorgan remains a client of Global Counsel for its geopolitical insights.
Additional reporting by Joe Miller in Washington