It must be a PR company's nightmare when a client goes on primetime TV to slag off your firm. Lyndon Lea, co-founder of hedge fund firm Lion Capital which has a 33 per cent stake in Findus, was critical in a Sky News interview yesterday (12 Feb) of the food company's response to the horse meat scandal. A number of Findus frozen beef meals were last week found to contain up to 100 per cent horse meat.
"Within hours [of finding out] I sent an email to the chairman stating that Findus needed to step forward and accept responsibility, apologise to the consumer, restore trust in the brand and be very visible in managing this crisis," Lea said in the interview.
Burston Marsella, one of the world's leading PR companies, had advised Findus on how to handle the PR fall out from the horse meat scandal. Lea accepted that Findus management had dealt capably with the technical aspect of the debacle but was critical of the PR approach undertaken. He said, "Findus took advice from its public relations adviser, Burson Marsteller, who gave exactly the opposite advice and felt that this was an industry issue and not a Findus issue."
Informed sources suggest Lyndon would have been in the market to buy a bigger share in Findus which is now unlikely as the brand's image has been damaged by the finding of horse DNA in Findus products manufactured by French firm Comigel.
Findus was acquired by Lion Capital in 2008 in a £1.1 billion deal but does not control the company following the financial restructuring of the company last year. In his scathing review of the Findus response, Lea said, "I am enormously frustrated, yes. In any Lion-controlled investment we would not have handled the PR in the manner it has been handled by Findus."
© 2013 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine by Kevin Kelly
