About us

We help businesses and investors succeed in an increasingly complex world & managing risk.

We founded Flint in 2015 from our conviction that businesses and investors operating in European markets need the best possible advice in their dealings with governments and regulators, provided by experts with first-hand experience of how decisions are made. Our practice teams cover different areas of public policy across all sectors of the economy. We advise investors on political and regulatory risks affecting transactions and assets, help corporate clients anticipate, interpret and respond to developments in policy and politics, and provide technical regulatory, economic and competition advice in the UK, EU and Asia-Pacific.

Our services

Flint’s practice areas provide advice on all aspects of public policy in European and global markets.

Policy and political analysis

Geopolitics advisory

Competition and regulatory advice

Fund and asset management advice

Mergers and acquisitions and transaction clearance

Economic modelling

Financial services advisory

Tax and business rates advisory

ESG and sustainability

Policy and political analysis

We help businesses anticipate, interpret and respond to developments in policy and politics.

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Geopolitics advisory

We have an outstanding group of senior experts in diplomacy and international politics. We apply their geopolitical analysis and judgement directly to the commercial challenges faced by our clients, helping them identify risks and opportunities.

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Competition and regulatory advice

Our team of economists and regulatory finance experts have extensive experience at the most senior levels within regulators, competition authorities and government bodies in the UK, the EU and Asia-Pacific.

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Fund and asset management advice

Flint helps investors understand and manage risks and opportunities in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

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Mergers and acquisitions and transaction clearance

Flint supports transaction parties to assess and execute M&A across the UK, Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

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Economic modelling

We help clients present evidence-based cases to decision-makers that are robust and effective.

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Financial services advisory

Flint helps financial services businesses and institutions, across the spectrum from established players to growing fintechs.

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Tax and business rates advisory

Our team of tax policy experts and economists are specialists in how tax policy is developed within government and the important role that high-quality economic analysis plays in the policymaking process.

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ESG and sustainability

We help investors and companies navigate the complex political, policy and regulatory environment on sustainability and ESG.

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Founders

Our founders already had proven records of success in government, regulation and consultancy.

James Purnell

CEO

Sir Simon Fraser

FOUNDING PARTNER

Ed Richards

FOUNDING PARTNER

James Purnell

CEO

In 2001, James was elected Member of Parliament for Stalybridge.

He was a minister from 2005 to 2009, including as Secretary of State for Culture and then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the UK government of PM Gordon Brown.

Before that he was an adviser in PM Tony Blair's Number 10 Policy Unit covering telecoms and Internet policy, as well as culture, media, sport and post-16 education.

In 2010, he joined Boston Consulting Group as a senior adviser, before moving to the BBC in March 2013 as Director of Strategy and Digital. At the BBC he launched BBC Sounds.  In 2021 James became President and Vice Chancellor of the University of the Arts before joining Flint as its new CEO.

Sir Simon Fraser

FOUNDING PARTNER

Sir Simon Fraser is a co-founder. He advises clients on policy, political and regulatory issues in the UK and Europe.

From 2010 to 2015 Simon was Head of the UK Foreign Office and Diplomatic Service. He ran the global network of British embassies and was on the National Security Council.

In 2009-2010, as Permanent Secretary, Simon led the UK Department for Business (BIS) in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, playing a central part in planning for recovery.

Prior to that Simon was for four years Chief of Staff to the European Commissioner for Trade in Brussels. He was closely engaged in EU trade negotiations with the United States and China.

Simon is a Senior Adviser at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), a member of the UK board of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Honorary President of the British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG).

Ed Richards

FOUNDING PARTNER

Ed Richards is a co-founder of Flint. He advises clients who face regulatory challenges, and assists them in adapting to, and making the most of, competition and policy developments. Ed also leads client teams working on issues in the digital/tech sector and in a range of network industries, as well as on general competition and regulatory issues.

Before co-founding Flint, Ed spent more than eight years as the Chief Executive of Ofcom, the UK’s telecoms and media regulator.

During this time, he worked closely with the European Commission and was Vice-Chair of the Body of the European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). After leaving Ofcom, Ed led an independent review into financial services representation, which led to the merger of six financial services associations in the UK.

Earlier in his career Ed worked as an adviser in the office of the UK Prime Minister and headed the corporate strategy team at the BBC.

Our board

Our Board sets the strategy of Flint and is accountable for our long-term success. It sets our values, leads our culture and ensures that we have sound financial stewardship, risk management, compliance and governance.

Board members

James Purnell

CEO

Sir Simon Fraser

Founding Partner

Ed Richards

Founding Partner

Susan Murphy

Partner & COO

Garrett Curran

Managing Partner, GCP

Emily Henderson

Investment Director, GCP

Gregor Kreuzhuber

Partner & M.D. Europe

Sir Ian Powell

Non-Executive Chair

2015

2018

2021

2022

2023

2024

Our journey

Simon Fraser, Ed Richards, and Nigel Gardner founded Flint, based in Manchester Square, London.

Our journey

Gregor Kreuzhuber opened our Brussels office.

Our journey

Flint completed a significant minority investment from UK private equity fund Growth Capital Partners.

Our journey

Flint opened an office in Paris headed up by Anne-Juliette Rohrbach.

Our journey

Flint established a presence in Asia-Pacific, incorporated both in Singapore and Hong Kong and led by Mark Austen.

Our journey

James Purnell began his role as chief executive officer of Flint Global. Taking on the executive leadership of the firm from managing partners Simon Fraser and Ed Richards.

Mission & values

Our goal is to be the best advisers for business on policy, politics, regulation and competition.

Candid

offering honest, open and straightforward advice and judgements.

Rigorous

addressing issues in depth, drawing on evidence, experience, knowledge and judgment.

Constructive

meticulous in our thinking, to produce the best answer, not the easy answer, while understanding the interests and concerns of our clients.

Case studies

Advising a payment systems operator on political and regulatory risk, involved in a major commercial decision

Multi-jurisdictional due diligence for a global health investor on a telemedicine target

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Where we are

Our team works from offices in London, Brussels, Paris, The Netherlands, Hong Kong and Singapore to support our clients across the globe. Out network of in-country Senior Advisers reaches more widely across Europe and Asia Pacific.

London

Brussels

Paris

The Netherlands

Across Europe

London

Our London Headquarters is home to a multinational team of experts with decades of experience working at senior levels of government, across Whitehall, in UK and international regulators and in the private sector. They work on high-profile regulatory and policy initiatives, transactions and competition cases.

Meet the London team

Brussels

The Flint team in Brussels has experience working in European governments, EU institutions and the private sector. This expertise means they can offer authoritative advice on developments in policy, regulation and politics in Europe and beyond. They work collaboratively with our offices around the globe, and closely collaborate with our Senior Advisers in Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Warsaw and other European capitals to ensure excellent, integrated support for our clients.

Meet the Brussels team

Paris

We have a strong team of political, policy and public affairs specialists in our Paris office, supporting businesses and investors in France and working closely with our Brussels and wider European team.

Meet the Paris team

The Netherlands

Our Dutch team offers the best regulatory and policy advice to Netherlands-based and international clients, working in close cooperation with our teams in Brussels, London and beyond.

Meet the Netherlands team

Across Europe

In addition to our offices across Europe and the UK, Flint Global has an extensive network of Senior Advisers based in over ten European countries. Their expertise provides strategic advice for our clients based outside of our core teams, giving them insight to multiple jurisdictions, such as Spain, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Poland and more.

Meet the Europe team

Hong Kong and Singapore

Our Hong Kong and Singapore teams offer high-quality political, policy and regulatory advice, with a focus on financial services and tech. The Hong Kong and Singapore teams serve clients across the region and draw upon the help of a wide network of Flint Senior Advisers across Asia-Pacific, including India, Australia, Japan, Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.

Meet the London team

Berlin

Our people in Berlin have worked in politics, financial services institutions and more widely across the private sector. They offer in-depth policy and regulatory advice to German-based and international clients, often in collaboration with our other EU and UK offices.

Meet the London team