Crisis engulfs the City's king of PR

THE week started with accusations of dirty tricks by his company, the most powerful public relations operation in the City. It ended with news that he had lost a key client to one of his rivals. And this weekend it emerged that Alan Parker - head of PR giant Brunswick, a firm with a client list embracing more than a quarter of the FTSE 100 index of top companies - has separated from Caroline, his wife of 24 years.

Parker, 45, confirmed he has parted from his wife, but insisted that the split is amicable. 'No one else is involved,' he said.

The couple, photographs of whose son and three daughters cover the walls in the hall of their plush house in Notting Hill, west London, 'are not rushing at divorce', said Parker. But the crisis has coincided with a groundswell of bad news for Brunswick, and Parker has been keen to reassure colleagues that the split will have no impact on the running of the firm he co-founded 15 years ago.

Specifically, he has denied persistent rumours that the company is for sale and that investment banks Goldman Sachs or Schroder Salomon Smith Barney have been appointed to handle the disposal. 'We haven't hired any banks,' he said.

Brunswick is a giant in financial PR, with more blue-chip companies on its books than any of its rivals. Its clients have been involved in deals worth more than £110 billion in the past 12 months. The group employs some of the City's most formidable PR executives as well as a growing array of political movers and shakers.

It recently hired James Rubin, the former US State Department spokesman, and plans to give a part-time job to Sarah Macaulay, wife of Chancellor Gordon Brown, after the birth of the couple's child. Former employees include glamorous Jane Hardman, a onetime girlfriend of William Hague.

But Brunswick's recent successes have been eclipsed by well-publicised business losses. On Friday, rival firm Maitland took over the contract to represent John Duffield's New Star Asset Management after a row in which Brunswick was accused of dirty tricks.

Brunswick had sent journalists a copy of the accounts of Jupiter, Duffield's former employer, with which Duffield had fought a bruising court battle. Jupiter was furious about the mailing and claimed a briefing note that accompanied the accounts misrepresented the firm's financial performance. The affair was an embarrassment for Duffield, and by the end of the week he had switched firms.

Brunswick strenuously denies wrongdoing. But the incident has intensified pressure on the group, which recently sacked two partners and up to 20 other staff in its first-ever round of cost-cutting.

And the bad news hasn't stopped there. Railtrack parted company with Brunswick in the spring. The PR firm also lost the Marconi account despite Parker's close connections with the board. Parker stuck with the company after Marconi axed his friend, deputy chief executive John Mayo - seen as a betrayal by his critics.

Parker's friends say Parker was bound to stick by his client - the company, not Mayo. In any case, under a new chairman, Marconi soon left Brunswick for Bell Pottinger.

Brunswick has suffered other losses. Cable & Wireless defected. So did Abbey National. But despite recent setbacks, Brunswick is still the biggest force in City PR. Insiders say the firm's real success comes from key relationships that Parker, the son of former British Rail chairman Sir Peter Parker, has built with influential players in the City.

'There is a golden triangle and it comprises David Mayhew, John Thornton and Alan Parker,' said one. (Mayhew is head of stockbroker Cazenove and Thornton is UK operations chief of Goldman Sachs.) If Thornton and Mayhew are on a deal, said the source, Parker is a near-automatic addition.

Parker believes Brunswick was the first to anticipate huge changes in financial markets and media. He would be the first to rubbish suggestions that the company is little more than a product of his undeniable talent for networking.

Additional reporting: Hamida Ghafour and Lisa Buckingham