Saunders Unsworth

What Saunders Unsworth does

Saunders Unsworth is a Wellington-based government relations and lobbying consultancy founded in 1994 by Barrie Saunders and Mark Unsworth in response to New Zealand's adoption of the MMP electoral system. The firm operates with a deliberately boutique model: four senior practitioners (a co-founder/lobbyist, a former Cabinet Minister, a former diplomat and chief NZ negotiator of the China FTA, and a senior PR practitioner) plus an office manager, delivering services directly rather than through junior staff. Core offerings span lobbying, political intelligence, Select Committee submissions, media relations, crisis management, strategic policy advice, and constituency-building for client policy positions.

The firm's revenue model is professional-services fee-for-engagement, with multi-year contracts negotiated individually and an explicit philosophy of pricing on outcomes rather than billable hours. It serves a diversified base of large NZ corporates, multinationals, government agencies, universities, superannuation funds, and international organisations (e.g., Fonterra, Air New Zealand, Pfizer, Huawei NZ, Contact Energy, Blackstone, MFAT, NZ Customs, Victoria University of Wellington). Distribution is exclusively direct: clients work one-on-one with a senior consultant, and new business is generated through referrals and the firm's reputational standing with politicians and officials - there is no formal marketing, no pitches, and no digital sales motion.

There is no proprietary technology platform underlying the business; the principal intellectual property is human (relationships and the 25+ year-running Saunders Unsworth MP Guide, a triennial client-only publication). Operating geographies are concentrated in New Zealand, with a formal China-focused practice signalled by a Chinese-language version of the firm's website and Charles Finny's diplomatic and FTA-negotiation background.

Name

Saunders Unsworth

Legal name

Saunders Unsworth Limited

Website

https://sul.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Saunders Unsworth is a Wellington-based government relations and lobbying consultancy founded in 1994, serving large NZ corporates, multinationals, and government agencies through four senior practitioners, using a referral-driven, relationship-based model with no formal marketing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Relations Consulting: Professional consulting fees for government relations, public policy, and lobbying services. The firm operates on a relationship basis rather than volume billing, seeking outcomes rather than billable hours.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Saunders Unsworth is a Wellington-based government relations and lobbying consultancy providing senior-led advisory services to corporate, governmental, and international clients. Core services include direct advocacy with Ministers, MPs, and officials, political intelligence, Select Committee submissions, media relations, crisis management, strategic business advice, and policy constituency building. The firm supplements advisory services with proprietary offerings including the Saunders Unsworth MP Guide (published every three years) and a secure client document portal.

Product overview

Saunders Unsworth offers a unified government relations and public policy consultancy service. The core offering consists of government relations and lobbying, political intelligence, select committee submissions, media relations, crisis management, strategic business advice, and policy constituency building services. Supplementary proprietary products include the Saunders Unsworth MP Guide (a comprehensive political guide sold to clients) and a client document management system portal. The consultancy does not offer a technology platform but provides expert advisory services delivered by senior practitioners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Government Relations and Lobbying Consultancy Core consulting service providing expert government relations, lobbying, and public policy advisory services to help clients interact with Ministers, MPs, officials, and regulatory authorities. Serves corporate, governmental, and international clients.
• Saunders Unsworth MP Guide
• Client Document Management System Secure client portal hosted at documents.sul.co.nz for accessing and managing documents, accessible only to authenticated clients. Used to distribute the MP Guide and other confidential client materials.

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Mercury Strategy Group: Independent government affairs and strategic advisory firm serving corporate clients. Comparable as a senior-led public affairs advisory firm in the broader government relations category.
• PJC Strategy: Specialist government and public affairs advisory firm. Comparable as a boutique public affairs consultancy serving corporate clients, though based in a different market (US-focused).
• New Zealand government relations / public affairs boutiques (sector): A number of small NZ-based government relations and public affairs consultancies operate alongside Saunders Unsworth in the Wellington market. Comparable in providing government relations and lobbying services to corporate clients, though typically smaller and less senior-only than Saunders Unsworth.

Broad incumbents

• FleishmanHillard: Global communications consultancy with a public affairs practice serving corporate and government clients on policy, regulatory engagement, and political communications. Comparable service mix but operating across multiple markets at larger scale.
• Hill & Knowlton: Global public relations and public affairs firm offering government relations, policy advocacy, and crisis management. Comparable in providing senior-led government affairs services to corporate clients, though much larger and more diversified.
• Burson (BCW): Global public affairs and communications firm offering government relations, public policy advocacy, and crisis management. Comparable in serving corporate clients on regulatory and political engagement, though with much broader geographic and service scope.
• FGS Global: Global advisory firm combining public affairs, government relations, strategic communications, and crisis management. Comparable to Saunders Unsworth in providing senior-led government and public affairs advice, but operates at significantly larger scale across multiple jurisdictions.
• Teneo: Global advisory firm with a public affairs and government relations practice serving corporate clients on political strategy, regulatory engagement, and crisis. Comparable in service offering but serves multinationals across multiple geographies.
• Edelman: One of the largest global communications firms with a dedicated public affairs practice providing government relations, policy advocacy, and political intelligence. Comparable service offering to Saunders Unsworth but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Regional players

• Crosby Textor: Strategic communications and government advisory firm operating in Australia and Asia-Pacific. Most comparable regional peer given proximity to New Zealand market and similar corporate/political advisory focus, though larger and Australia-headquartered.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Saunders Unsworth