Pannells' hotel consultancy staff continue defection to Andersens
Arthur Andersen has poached four more staff from Pannell Kerr Forster’s embattled hotel consultancy business to add to the three it snatched earlier this year.
The four, who will start at Andersens in November, are senior consultants Deborah Griffin, Sally Robinson and Angela O’Reilly, and the practice’s research manager, Julia Felton.
Andersens took on former managing director Frank Croston in May. Managing consultant Nick van Marken and consultant Tim Hansing are also moving over. Both will operate out of Bahrain, covering the Middle East market.
This latest round of defections means that ten of Pannells’ 25-strong hotel team has quit since February, when the consultancy’s five directors made an unsuccessful bid to buy the business for # 3m.
The resignations will come as a severe blow to the Pannells management which is still trying to come to terms with the resignation in April of chairman Alan Hopper.
This setback may now force it to stem the haemorrhaging of disgruntled staff by speeding up its promised recruitment of replacements.
Hopper’s future plans also remain unclear. He is contracted to remain at Pannells until next May. Hopper has already been approached by Andersens, but has yet to announce his intentions.
Edward Middleton, Pannells’ partner in charge of the hotels consultancy, refused to comment on the resignations.
