A spokesperson for the joint administrators at Interpath confirmed: “As the exit of customers left the company facing insolvency, the U.K. business was unable to continue to trade while the statutory notice periods be run.”
Dozens of former U.K. staff are now planning to apply for a protective award, the same two former staff members told POLITICO. When a claim is successful against an insolvent firm, employees are able to receive a maximum of £5,752 each from the Insolvency Service.
However, Interpath representatives warned in the Feb. 20 meeting that this process could take up to nine months, the same two former staff members said.
‘Let down’
One of the two former staff members complained that they had suffered financial repercussions while watching Mandelson receive severance from the government.
The other complained the situation had been “dealt with very, very badly” and staff had felt “let down.” However, a third person praised Global Counsel for running payroll before the firm’s collapse to ensure staff were paid up until the final day they had worked.
Companies House records show Mandelson transferred his remaining 1,192,137 shares in Global Counsel on Feb. 6. Mandelson’s legal representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
The firm said at the time that his shares had been fully acquired by three individuals — the firm’s then-Managing Director Rebecca Park plus “an existing board member [and] shareholder.” The firm did not disclose who those people were.
Global Counsel has not announced how much, if anything, Mandelson was paid for his shares. Until the scandal, Global Counsel — from which Mandelson resigned as a director in May 2024 — had been boasting “significant progress.” Operating profit exceeded £1 million in 2024 thanks to what the company called a “significant market opportunity arising from increasing geopolitical uncertainty.”