Summary of Investigation – Quintessentially (UK) Limited

Published on: Thursday 9th September 2021

Organisation or Person Investigated

Quintessentially (UK) Limited and any other companies or subsidiaries of the Quintessentially group (‘Quintessentially’).

Matter(s) Investigated

Whether Quintessentially is an unregistered consultant lobbyist, with particular reference to media reports about access for Quintessentially subscribers to senior people.

Registrar’s Decision

That Quintessentially does not need to register, based on the information provided.

Summary of Rationale for Decision

Based on the detailed explanation of Quintessentially’s business activities and explicit assurances in Quintessentially’s letter of 7 September, I conclude that the company has not been engaging in consultant lobbying activity.

Chronology

Date	Action
August	Media reports suggesting Quintessentially arranges access to senior people.
6 August	Formal letter from the Registrar to Quintessentially giving background on the requirement for registering; asking if their activities in general fall within the criteria to be registered; and in particular with reference to arranging access for subscribers to senior people.
18 August	Letter and statutory Information Notice from the Registrar, requiring a response to his queries by 17 September.
18 August	Email from Quintessentially apologising and explaining the letter had only just been received and offering a telephone call.
18 August	ORCL email for Registrar stating that a full written response is required.
19 August	Letter from Quintessentially stating no consultant lobbying has taken place.
23 August	Letter from the Registrar requiring a substantive response.
7 September	Full response from Quintessentially to the Registrar regarding their activities and providing substantive assurances that no consultant lobbying is undertaken.
9 September	Letter from the Registrar to confirm the investigation is complete and advising Mr Elliott to be cautious about the possibility of engaging in consultant lobbying activity (perhaps unintentionally) by not making a clear enough distinction between his role as a director of Quintessentially and his other activities connected to government.

9 September 2021
Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists
office@orcl.gov.uk