Peter Mandelson's lobbying firm is set to go into administration in the wake of fresh revelations about the shamed peer's links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Global Counsel was co-founded by Lord Mandelson and previously worked with a roster of clients including Palantir, GSK, Vodafone, TikTok and the Premier League.
The firm announced earlier this month that it had cut ties with Lord Mandelson following the release of the 'Epstein files' in America.
Documents released by the US Department of Justice revealed further details about Lord Mandelson's relationship with the paedophile financier.
But the ending of Lord Mandelson's stake in Global Counsel does not appear to have saved the company's future, with high-profile clients pulling their business.
Staff at the company were told in a meeting at 1pm that it is being placed into administration due to the links between Lord Mandelson and Epstein, it is understood.
A Global Counsel source said it was a terrible situation for staff, who had 'nothing to do with it'. They added: 'It's the end of Mandelson's legacy.'
Another Global Counsel source told the Mail: 'It's a good firm of good people that have been swept away by the millstone of revelations that were nothing to do with the firm.
'This firm was run completely independently of Peter Mandelson for some years. He left as a director two years ago and then departed. Ninety per cent of the people here have never worked with him.'
In a statement the firm - which has around 130 employees in Berlin, Brussels, London, Singapore, Washington DC and Doha - confirmed it had appointed administrators.
It said the 'continuing maelstrom of political and media attention surrounding Peter Mandelson has made it challenging to continue with the business in its current form'.
The news came on the same day that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was also a friend of Epstein, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Peter Mandelson's lobbying firm is set to go into administration in the wake of fresh revelations about the shamed peer's links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
A photograph released as part of the 'Epstein files' apparently shows Lord Mandelson talking to a woman who is wearing a white bath robe
It came on the same day that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was also a friend of Epstein, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office
The brother of King Charles was taken into custody on his 66th birthday following allegations made against the former prince after the release of the Epstein files.
Thames Valley Police previously said the force was reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew, and claims he shared sensitive information with the paedophile while serving as the UK's trade envoy.
They are among a number of police forces across the UK are assessing information released as part of the US document dump.
Officers from Surrey, Bedfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, the West Midlands, Wiltshire and Scotland have all said they are reviewing information.
The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation following allegations that Lord Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to Epstein while he was business secretary in Gordon Brown's government during the financial crisis.
Scotland Yard said its probe into Lord Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office would 'take some time' after officers finished searching his homes in London and Wiltshire earlier this month.
Lord Mandelson has denied the Epstein files show he broke any laws or acted for personal gain. He has repeatedly said he regrets his friendship with Epstein.
The former Cabinet minister co-founded Global Counsel in 2010 after Labour lost that year's general election. He stepped down from its board about two years ago.
Global Counsel's chief executive Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, another co-founder, announced his departure from the firm this month.
He said he was stepping down as it was 'time to draw a line' between the business and the 'actions' of Lord Mandelson.
Mr Wegg-Prosser was previously a political adviser and director of strategic communications under former prime minister Tony Blair, before going on to work as a director at a Russian media firm.
Lord Mandelson has quit the House of Lords, resigned from the Labour Party, and been kicked out of the Privy Council in the wake of the Epstein files being released.
He is still allowed to use his 'Lord' title until legislation is passed to formally remove it from him - something Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to do.
The Prime Minister, who was forced to sack Lord Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to the US in September last year, on Thursday said 'nobody has been harder on me... than I have been hard on myself' over his initial decision to appoint the peer to the Washington DC role.
Sir Keir spoke to BBC Breakfast where he apologised again to victims, and repeated that giving Lord Mandelson the job was a mistake.
He said: 'I apologised for my decision to appoint Peter Mandelson to the role of ambassador, and I apologise to the victims for believing his lies.
'I have reflected a lot on that because having worked so hard in this field, for me to have accepted his lies was a mistake.
'And that's why I wanted to apologise to the victims first and foremost for having accepted his lies, and I do so again now, if I may through you, to apologise for having believed the lies that were told to my team, and knowing the impact that that will have had on so many of the victims, and actually other people in Parliament and in my own party.
'That's why I apologise because I reflected good and hard on that, and as I said to my parliamentary Labour Party, nobody has been harder on me in relation to that than I have been hard on myself.'
The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn described the arrest of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor as a 'very serious development'.
He also said it 'also underlines why Keir Starmer must stop the delays and bring forward legislation as quickly as possible to remove Peter Mandelson's titles, peerage and his taxpayer-funded payout and pension'.
'There is no excuse for further delays and inaction from the Labour Government,' he added.
Global Counsel said in its statement: 'After an exhaustive review of the options available to the company, the board of Global Counsel has decided to ask the UK courts to appoint Interpath as an administrator to take control of and realise the assets of the company.
'To be clear, this will no longer be business as usual as the administrators-in-waiting have already indicated that, in the unlikely event that any ongoing servicing of clients is viable, this will be on a limited basis only.
'Inevitably therefore, this will result in a significant number of redundancies being made by the administrators when they take control of the company tomorrow.
'Over the last decade Global Counsel has grown to become a highly regarded international professional services firm. Its team of outstanding advisory professionals has been privileged to serve a wide range of exceptional businesses and investors.
'Many of these clients have remained loyal to the firm in recent weeks. However, the continuing maelstrom of political and media attention surrounding Peter Mandelson has made it challenging to continue with the business in its current form.
'While today's Global Counsel has no connection with Peter Mandelson, his role as a co-founder and his conduct, particularly in its early years, has indelibly coloured the way Global Counsel is seen in the outside world.
'Last year Global Counsel achieved its best revenue and profitability to date - a success built on its strong reputation for high quality advice around the world - and has very little debt. It was confident of its prospects for growth in 2026 and beyond.
'Events last September and subsequently have changed that outlook. Therefore, the board has concluded that it is in the best interests of creditors, staff and clients to act now to place the company into the hands of court appointed administrators.
'The board wishes to thank: firstly, all our staff who have stood together in very difficult times and shown exceptional resilience in the face of circumstances beyond their control; secondly, our clients, who have been placed in a difficult position by these events and whose generous support has been a tribute to our teams, and; thirdly, our shareholders who have suffered a material loss through no fault of their own.'
