Thu, 03 Jul 2025 | BUSINESS SALE
Leading public relations executive Matthew Freud (pictured) is reportedly exploring a potential sale of his eponymous PR consultancy. Freud Communications was founded in 1985 and has been a major presence in the PR industry for 40 years.
Freud established the agency with just two clients, Irish folk-rock band Clannad and celebrity “psychic” Uri Geller. The firm, and Freud, became more prominent during the 1990s, when it represented a number of Britpop celebrities.
Other notable clients have included Apple designer Sir Jony Ive, F1 driver Sir Lewis Hamilton, long-distance runner Sir Mo Farah, production companies Baby Cow Productions and Working Title and motorsport championship Formula E.
Freud has now hired boutique investment bank Robey Warshaw to undertake a process to find a buyer for the London-based firm, according to reports citing people with knowledge of the matter. Former Conservative Chancellor and Robey Warshaw partner George Osborne is reportedly leading the review.
Freud was said to have hired Robey Warshaw to review a formal sale process after having received several unsolicited approaches. According to the sources, a potential sale would most likely involve Freud remaining in charge of the business for several years to oversee a transition.
A source close to Freud, quoted in reports, stated that he would only sell the agency to the right buyer who would continue devoting some of the firm’s resources to good causes and maintain its “B Corp” status, attained by meeting certain social and environmental standards.
The source added that a sale was not certain, but that Freud was seeking to safeguard the agency’s future as he approaches retirement age as he does not consider a succession to one of his children a viable option.
Last year, the agency was reported to have generated revenues of approximately £48 million and earnings of around £12 million. In 2024, a stake in Freud’s larger counterpart FGS was sold at around a 17x multiple of earnings.
Read about the process of selling a consultancy business.
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