HONG KONG — Instinctif Partners has shut down its Asian operations, six years after it entered the region via the acquisition of Greater China consultancy PR People.

PR People brought around 20 staffers to Instinctif's presence in the region, across its Hong Kong HQ and offices in Beijing and Shanghai. All have been let go, said Instinctif CEO Tim Linacre.

That includes regional managing partner Simon Buckby, who relocated to Asia in 2017 following the sale of his Champollion business to Asia-Pacific. Instinctif's other senior executives in Asia included Shanghai partner Rena Wang, while its Beijing and Hong Kong partners both left the business earlier in mid-2019. 

The move comes after Instinctif also exited the US at the end of 2018, after the firm's key client in that market, eBay, reduced spend. That leaves Instinctif with an EMEA footprint that includes two offices in the UK, where its 235 staffers account for around three quarters of the firm's £30-35m in annual fee income.

The remainder of Instinctif's 320 headcount are spread across four offices in Germany, along with operations in Brussels, Dubai, Dublin and Johannesburg.

Linacre, who became Instinctif CEO when it was acquired by private equity house LDC last year, told the Holmes Report that the firm had no choice but to focus on its better-performing operations.

"Part of my role is to get the business into an area where all parts of the business make money all the time," he said, ruling out re-entry into Asia in the short term. "We're much more likely to have relationship agreements with local firms as opposed to creating our own startups."