Bell Pottinger was fighting for its survival last night after its biggest outside shareholder renounced its holding, British clients started to defect in large numbers and senior staff began to seek new jobs.
Chime Communications, which is 25 per cent owned by WPP, announced that it no longer held an interest in the public relations consultancy.
It is understood to have given its 27 per cent Bell Pottinger stake to Bell Pottinger for nothing in a scramble to distance itself from the firm.
British clients were similarly rushing to dump the firm yesterday, with HSBC, St James’s Place, the wealth manager, DS Smith, the packaging group, and Carillion, the construction group, all in the process of severing ties.
Unite, the student accommodation provider, Berwin Leighton