Auditor BDO quits Tory co-chair’s concierge service Quintessentially
BDO is reportedly resigning as auditor of Quintessentially, the members-only concierge service founded by Tory party co-chair Ben Elliot, following a breakdown in their relationship.
The auditing firm has cut ties with Quintessentially’s travel service, and is also set to exit its relationship with the wider group, the Financial Times reported.
BDO declined to comment on the report.
The auditing firm took over Quintessentially’s accounts in 2020 after PwC pulled out of working for the company.
Quintessentially later admitted making £7m errors on its accounts and paying out £1.4m in unlawful dividends in 2021, after the firm reported a £4.4m loss in 2019 on revenues of £50m.
Quintessentially has still not filed its accounts for the year to April 30 2020, despite them being due in April last year.
A Quintessentially spokesperson said “the change of the travel group auditors was entirely driven by the Quintessentially Group not BDO” as they claimed the firm “wanted to appoint travel specialists”.
Founded in 1999 by old Etonian Ben Elliot and co-founders Aaron Simpson and Paul Drummond, Quintessentially offers its members an array of services, including access to exclusive events, with the firm having previously secured invitations to ones held at Downing Street and Buckingham Palace.
Elliot, the nephew of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, continues to sit at the centre of the members-only concierge service that allows its super-rich clients access to the firm’s networks at the top of British society.