Bain hires former UK minister Gerry Grimstone for Saudi project

Bain hires former UK minister Gerry Grimstone for Saudi project

Bain & Company, the consultancy that until earlier this year was barred from taking on new work for the UK government, has hired a former minister as a paid adviser on a project for Saudi Arabia’s ministry of investment.

The appointment of Lord Gerry Grimstone, an unpaid minister for investment from March 2020 to July 2022, was approved this month by the Whitehall watchdog that reviews whether appointments of former ministers comply with rules designed to safeguard government independence.

In March the UK lifted a ban on Bain winning government contracts that had been imposed in August 2022 because of the consultancy’s role in a major South Africa corruption scandal.

Grimstone, a former chair of Barclays, has accepted multiple roles since leaving government, including a paid role for Equilibrium Global, a company working for Bahrain’s Economic Development Board.

In a letter published on its website, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, advised that the risks posed by the role with Bain could be “appropriately mitigated” if Grimstone followed several conditions during the work.

Grimstone met officials from Saudi Arabia during his time in office and made decisions that affected the country, according to information provided to the committee by the UK government.

The committee said officials