Burlton Advisory — Strategic Communications Counsel

How we work

A different kind
of advisory.

Burlton Advisory is not structured like a traditional communications firm. There are no account teams, no junior layers, and no delegation. Every mandate is led and delivered personally, supported by a curated network of specialist advisers and by the intelligent use of technology that allows a boutique practice to operate with the depth and speed of a much larger firm.

For some clients, this means retained strategic counsel alongside existing leadership. For others, it means operating as a fractional head of communications, embedded in the leadership team, thinking and executing alongside them, and filling a gap that a chief marketing officer alone cannot cover.

Principal-led

Every engagement is led and delivered personally throughout. Clients work directly with David Bass from the first conversation to delivery. No account managers, no handoffs, no junior teams working unsupervised on your mandate.

Specialist network

Access to a curated network of senior specialists across law, finance, government relations, digital intelligence, and sector expertise, engaged selectively as the mandate requires. The breadth of a large firm without the overhead or the conflicts.

Technology-enabled

AI-assisted research and analysis is used to bring greater speed, depth, and rigour to background work. All strategy, editorial judgement, and advice is provided directly and personally. Technology amplifies the work. It does not replace it.

Who we work with

Two kinds of client.
One standard of counsel.

Financial services & investment

Senior counsel for
the investment community.

Hedge fund managers, venture capital and private equity firms, family offices, and alternative asset managers. David has long-standing relationships with financial and business media in London and New York, and the market fluency to advise credibly on both sides of the Atlantic. Having lived and worked in both cities, he understands the distinct dynamics of each market and the audiences that matter most within them.

Hedge funds & alternative investment managers
Venture capital & private equity
Portfolio companies at any stage
Family offices & private wealth
Asset managers & financial services businesses

Private companies

Any sector.
Any stage. Any size.

Private companies from early-stage growth to mature businesses, across any sector. This includes professional services firms — law firms, consultancies, and advisory businesses — where reputation is the product and communications is central to business development, partner and practice profile, and market positioning. Many will have a chief marketing officer but no in-house specialist in financial communications or media relations. Burlton Advisory fills that gap, providing not just strategic counsel but hands-on execution, operating as an extension of the leadership team rather than an external agency at arm's length.

Professional services firms: law, consulting & advisory
Building brand, practice and market profile
Attracting talent and growing a client base
Raising financing and managing investor relationships
Preparing for a strategic exit or public market listing
Navigating complex or regulated operating environments

What we do

Counsel shaped
to the situation.

Close to two decades advising across the full spectrum of high-stakes communications, from capital markets and investor relations to crisis and reputation, across fast-growing businesses and established financial services firms. Each engagement is bespoke. The brief defines the work.

Capital Markets & Investor Relations

Strategic communications across the full capital markets cycle: IPOs and listings on AIM, the Main Market, FTSE, and NASDAQ; M&A and cross-border transactions; fundraisings; and ongoing investor relations for listed and pre-IPO companies. Adviser to boards, founders, and management teams through transactions that demand clear, credible financial storytelling and precise stakeholder management.

Crisis & Special Situations

Confidential, senior counsel for situations requiring immediate attention and experienced judgement: regulatory scrutiny, activist pressure, litigation exposure, reputational threats, leadership transitions, and sensitive matters that cannot be delegated to a team unfamiliar with the terrain. Available when it matters most.

Stakeholder & Reputation

Building and protecting relationships with the audiences that shape value: institutional investors, Tier 1 media, regulators, and counterparties. Strategic positioning for organisations seeking to establish, strengthen, or defend their standing in demanding and competitive environments.

Investment Management & Alternatives

Strategic communications for hedge fund managers, venture capital and private equity firms, and alternative asset managers, as well as for the portfolio companies they back. David has extensive experience advising both fund managers and their investee businesses, understanding the distinct communications needs of each. For fund managers, this covers investor relations, fundraising communications, media profile, and sensitive situations where discretion is as important as execution. For portfolio companies, it means the full range of growth communications, from brand and market presence to media, stakeholder engagement, and preparation for a strategic exit.

Founder & Executive Counsel

Direct advisory and hands-on execution for founders, principals, and senior executives, and for the organisations they are building. This engagement goes beyond strategic counsel: David can operate as a fractional head of communications, embedded in the leadership team and executing alongside them. This model works particularly well for professional services firms, where a marketing function exists but dedicated communications expertise does not. Many organisations also have a chief marketing officer but no in-house specialist in financial communications or reputation management. Burlton Advisory fills that role, from establishing brand and market presence from the ground up, to growing a client base, attracting talent, securing financing, and managing the communications demands of a strategic exit or public market listing. At this stage, individual credibility and organisational reputation are inseparable. Both require deliberate, senior-led counsel and execution from the earliest days.

About

Close to two
decades at the
intersection of
counsel and
consequence.

Burlton Advisory was founded by David Bass, a strategic communications adviser with close to twenty years of experience advising founders, CEOs, boards, and leadership teams across capital markets, energy infrastructure, highly regulated industries, and international growth businesses.

Career experience includes serving at No.10 Downing Street and within the Foreign & Commonwealth Office during the Arab Spring, leading international media operations at the United Nations during Somalia's first democratic elections in over two decades, and a secondment to NATO as UK Communications Liaison Officer during the Libya conflict.

In the private sector, David has advised FTSE 100, Main Market, and NASDAQ-listed companies, U.S. hedge funds and alternative investment managers, founder-led businesses, and international growth companies across IPOs, M&A, crisis situations, and complex regulatory environments in the UK, Europe, and the United States.

He served as Chief Communications Officer and a founding member of the senior leadership team at Plxsur, building the global communications and corporate affairs function across ten markets ahead of the company's public markets journey. Most recently, he advised MetaWealth on strategic communications and institutional investor engagement surrounding the launch of its European battery energy storage strategy, securing engagement with Tier 1 international infrastructure, wealth, and financial media.

Having lived and worked in both London and New York, David has direct relationships with UK and US financial and business media and a thorough understanding of both markets: a genuine differentiator for clients who need senior counsel with reach and credibility on both sides of the Atlantic.

Burlton Advisory operates on a fully remote basis, providing clients in London and New York with direct access to senior counsel, without agency overhead, without handoffs, and without the costs of a fixed office passed on in fees.

David holds an LLB in Law from Durham University.

~20

Years at senior level

AIM–
NASDAQ

Listed market experience

10+

Countries operated in

LLB

Durham University, Law

Sectors

Capital Markets & Financial Services Hedge Funds & Alternative Investments Energy Transition & Infrastructure Real Assets & Private Markets Natural Resources Highly Regulated Consumer Industries Technology & Growth Businesses Family Offices & Private Wealth

The adviser
behind the
outcome.

A different kind
of advisory.

Two kinds of client.
One standard of counsel.

Senior counsel for
the investment community.

Any sector.
Any stage. Any size.

Counsel shaped
to the situation.

Close to two
decades at the
intersection of
counsel and
consequence.

A conversation
costs nothing.

The adviser behind the outcome.

A different kind of advisory.

Two kinds of client. One standard of counsel.

Senior counsel for the investment community.

Any sector. Any stage. Any size.

Counsel shaped to the situation.

Close to two decades at the intersection of counsel and consequence.

A conversation costs nothing.

The adviser
behind the
outcome.

A different kind
of advisory.

Two kinds of client.
One standard of counsel.

Senior counsel for
the investment community.

Any sector.
Any stage. Any size.

Counsel shaped
to the situation.

Close to two
decades at the
intersection of
counsel and
consequence.

A conversation
costs nothing.