2024 has delivered change for Nepean, too. We built out our public affairs expertise, were joined by four new team members in Woolf, Ella, Patrick and Marilyn, welcomed a host of new clients, and moved to our new offices on Cavendish Square.

In November, we also released out latest report on how management teams view private equity owners and ownership (get in touch if you would like a copy!). It’s the latest in our research series on communications within the private equity industry, with much more still to come.

From the Nepean team, we wish you all a wonderful and well-earned festive break.

For those still in the market for gift inspiration, we thought we’d also share a few (reputational crisis-inspired) suggestions of our own…

Rory Stewart’s Crystal Ball, 100mm (The Psychic Tree: £36.99)

Everyone loves predictions, particularly ahead of a new year, but few are brave enough to make them. Kudos to anyone willing to take a more speculative public punt, particularly at a time of endemic hedging.

That said, predictions need to be based on more than vibes, and this year’s flurry of elections has revealed many a faulty crystal ball. Rory Stewart has built himself an impressive platform, built on unbridled confidence and a colourful career in the public sphere. But his self-declared cross-party politics is not equivalent to a breadth of insight, and his prediction of a Harris victory has rightly been ridiculed. New balls please.

Fortnum & Mason Classic Christmas Hamper (Fortnum & Mason: £200.00)

It’s not a London Christmas without a pilgrimage to Fortnum & Mason – nice on the outside, a hellish tea-dash within. And a hamper has always been a perfect gift: no thought really required, but expensive enough that it doesn’t really matter.

A few who might be expecting something wicker coming their way this year are the ParalympicsGB team, following a record-breaking Paris games. Fortnum & Mason’s failure to invite them to this year’s afterparty was rightly called out. The apology, though, blaming a “failure in communication”, was more than a few chutneys short of satisfactory.

Water Filter Jug, 2.4L (John Lewis: £32.00)

Sticking with this year’s Paris Olympics, the city of love spent €1.4 billion on cleaning up the Seine before the games, with mayor Anne Hidalgo declaring it safe to swim on taking a dip ahead of the opening ceremony. It was a bold promise, and one that they nearly pulled off.

However, multiple athletes were hospitalised after swimming in the river, and Macron is yet to fulfil his repeated promise to take the plunge himself. The project also enabled disgruntled Parisiennes, unhappy with the arrival of the games to begin with, to engage in the illustrious and storied dirty protest. We all have an interest in keeping our waterways clean, but perhaps in future safety should come ahead of posturing. This BRITA filter promises water that’s pure and fresh – good enough to drink.

Fixed-Fee Pre-Nuptial Agreement (Wenup: from £690.00pp)

Life is full of surprises, and ‘til death do us part’ has become more hope than expectation in recent decades. In the UK, one in five marriages now has some form of pre- or post-nup agreement in place – we live in a low trust world after all.

A pair that might have benefited from such an agreement, or perhaps a more strenuous one, are Noel Gallagher and Sara MacDonald. The dynamic pricing debacle that unfolded on the announcement of next year’s Oasis tour was quickly tied to the (reportedly £20 million) divorce settlement, undermining the band’s denial that they had any involvement in ticketing plans. Pre-nups might not be the most romantic, but certainly a worthwhile suggestion for the would-be price gougers in your life.