Bell Pottinger collapses following racism scandal

Bell Pottinger LLP collapsed on Tuesday after the public relations agency led a racially-charged political campaign in South Africa that prompted a client exodus.

Having lost customers, partners and its second-biggest shareholder in recent weeks, the company was put into administration by accountants BDO, entering a form of creditor protection after it failed to find a buyer.

“Following an immediate assessment of the financial position, the administrators have made a number of redundancies,” BDO said.

“The administrators are now working with the remaining partners and employees to seek an orderly transfer of Bell Pottinger’s clients to other firms in order to protect and realise value for creditors.”