Edinburgh Fringe’s Baillie Gifford backing goes unnoticed, the OWO battles PR woes and HSBC turns queasy: catch up on the latest City gossip in this week’s edition of The Capitalist
Baillie Gifford, Don’t Kill Nish Kumar’s Vibe
The quick churn of the news cycle is often a blessing for PRs and journos alike, but The Capitalist must applaud whichever whizz got it going at double speed ahead of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which has somehow managed to weasel its way out of any protests over its partnership with the now notorious arts sponsor Baillie Gifford.
While the investment manager is not technically a ‘sponsor’ of the Fringe, it confirmed to The Capitalist that it does make a “charitable donation”, though refused to disclose the amount. No worries, an Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society spokesperson told us Baillie Gifford coughed up £40,000 this year, which they are using for community and access projects.
It comes after Baillie Gifford was forced to end its partnerships with all UK literary festivals in June after a campaign from Fossil Free Books, which objected to its links to fossil fuel companies and firms tied to or operating in Israel. The whole thing caused rather the hullabaloo, with many high-profile writers boycotting Hay Festival off the back of it. Thou shalt not taint our art with your dirty money, they scoffed, and so Baillie Gifford duly withdrew it. Coincidentally, these conscientious objectors have gone a little quiet on the idealism since.
One such, comedian Nish Kumar, who at the time called it the “right decision” to cancel his appearance at Hay to support the campaign, has not commented on the events again. But, don’t worry, you can see him at his new show running almost daily at the Baillie Gifford-supported Edinburgh Fringe for the rest of the month! Kumar failed to respond when contacted for comment, but The Capitalist is happy to take his show’s title – Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe – as explanation aplenty.
Tale of OWO
It has been called the most significant hotel opening in London in the 21st century, but the opening phase of the OWO – short for the Old War Office – may not have gone exactly to plan. Major London PR firm Perowne that launched the whole £1.4bn project, comprising private accommodation as well as the Raffles hotel, has parted ways with the property only months after its lavish opening.
While it is unclear why the relationship ended, it comes shortly after four members of the billionaire Hinduja Group, Britain’s richest family who own the OWO, were sentenced to prison in Switzerland for exploiting Indian workers illegally brought to their Geneva property. They are appealing the convictions. It’s not quite the anecdote you want over afternoon tea. What would Churchill, who ran the war efforts from this building, have to say? Probably more than the OWO themselves, who didn’t respond to The Capitalist when we asked what happened with the PR shake-up.
HSBSick
Another week, another banker spewing everywhere. Rocket Man might have been playing on the piano but another type of rocket entirely was launching itself from the mouths of HSBC staffers at notorious Westminster sesh spot Players this week: puke. The Capitalist gathers some of the bank’s staffers were “putting away Stellas like nobody’s business” while enjoying a sing-song around the piano – before things turned sour. The dancing got a bit too energetic and two of them didn’t make it to the bathroom, and the boys chundered all over the carpet. Elton in his heyday would have been proud.
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