A PR provider shortlist with a strict admission rule and, for now, no names on it

What to take away

The strict tier is still empty. No England provider has supplied a complete dossier with permissioned references and controlled test records.
Seven named England providers sit in a public-record tier you can verify before spending money.
Admission means the verifiable basics are in place. It is not a quality verdict, and no firm paid to appear.
Indicative England bands for comparable work run from about £5,000 a month to £60,000 a campaign.
Entries are rechecked on 1 February 2027 and whenever a firm changes owner, scope or subcontractors.

Two tiers, one admission rule

The strict tier demands evidence the agency holds and must release: legal entity, current service version, permissioned references and controlled test records. Nobody supplied all four, so that tier stays empty. That empty tier is what the title refers to.

The public-record tier asks only for what a buyer can check in an afternoon. It sets the bar for the seven names below.

A live Companies House record matching the trading name and the entity on the proposal.
A published England office and a leadership page naming who answers for client work.
A published service scope listing sectors covered and work the firm turns down.
A published complaints route with a stated turnaround.

Evidence required before admission

Reconcile registered and trading names
Confirm company number and signatory
Obtain exact service version and sector limits
Check England availability and subcontractors
Review terms, privacy, security and rights
Confirm continuity, exit plan and accessible formats

The Companies House information disclaimer caps what a register entry can prove. Company-supplied information is not verified merely because it sits on the register.

Seven providers on the public-record bar

All seven publish a London base, a service scope and a leadership page. Bands below are indicative England market ranges, not quotes from any firm.

Provider	England base	Published focus	Indicative England band	Tier
Brunswick Group	London	Financial and corporate communications, investor relations	£10,000 to £40,000 a month	Public-record, admitted
Edelman UK	London	Corporate reputation, crisis, public affairs	£8,000 to £25,000 a month	Public-record, admitted
Freuds	London	Consumer, brand and purpose campaigns	£15,000 to £60,000 a campaign	Public-record, admitted
MHP Group	London	Corporate, health and public affairs	£6,000 to £18,000 a month	Public-record, admitted
Portland Communications	London	Public affairs, media and campaigns	£5,000 to £20,000 a month	Public-record, admitted
Teneo	London	Board-level advisory and reputation	£10,000 to £35,000 a month	Public-record, admitted
Weber Shandwick	London	Integrated consumer, corporate and crisis work	£7,000 to £25,000 a month	Public-record, admitted

None is ranked. Admitted entries appear alphabetically, because the bar tests verifiable basics rather than merit.

Best fit by brief

Investor relations and listed-company reputationBrunswick Group or Teneo.
Consumer brand and cultural campaignsFreuds or Weber Shandwick.
Public affairs and regulatory campaigningPortland Communications.
Health, care and public bodiesMHP Group.
Corporate reputation with a global footprintEdelman UK.

These map a published focus to a brief, not merit.

Example: screening a £60,000 budget

A B2B software firm with £60,000 a year has about £5,000 a month for retained work. That fits the lower bands and rules out the largest firms at once.

Before signing anything, work through the commercial contract decisions covering liability, rights and exit.

Match the Companies House entity to the name on the proposal.
Ask what the service version excludes and who signs off factual claims.
Put the same questions to three referees about scope, problems and corrections.
Buy a three-month pilot with named outputs and a fixed exit date.

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 sets the default position on who owns the copy, images and footage produced.

Checks before you brief any admitted firm

Reconcile registered name, company number and signatory.
Confirm the England delivery team, not only the pitch team.
Obtain the subcontractor list and the access arrangements.
Agree rights on copy, images and footage.
Set correction, escalation and exit dates in writing.
Agree the measurement method before the work starts.

Before you act

Reconcile registered and trading names
Obtain service version and subcontractor list
Check terms, privacy, security and rights
Confirm continuity, exit and accessible formats
Ask referees the same questions
Recheck dossiers on publication day

Contact data is the other trap. The ICO's business-to-business marketing guidance covers provenance, objections and suppression, and it does not authorise any particular approach to journalists.

If earned media matters, test the media contact tools on a live list before buying a licence.

Common questions

Why is the strict tier still empty?

No England provider supplied all four dossier items: legal entity, current service version, permissioned references and controlled test records. The public-record tier exists because narrower evidence still helps a buyer decide.

What does a Companies House record actually prove?

It supports identity and filing checks. The register does not validate company-supplied information, so it cannot establish trading activity, solvency or service quality.

Which firm should a small England business call first?

Match the brief to a published focus in the table. With a £5,000 monthly ceiling, Portland Communications or MHP Group fits before the larger bands.

When will this list change?

The next full recheck is 1 February 2027. Until then, buyers should run the four screening steps. Agree the measurement method first, because the attribution methods comparison explains why coverage counts and influence are not interchangeable.