Relevance International Appoints Freddie Gilbey as Director in London to Strengthen Luxury PR

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Somudranil Sarkar

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September 2, 2026 3:25 PM |

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Relevance International has appointed Freddie Gilbey as a director in its London office, strengthening the agency’s senior capabilities across client service, business development and strategic counsel for luxury brands in the UK and Europe.

Gilbey joins the independent communications agency from Mercury Communications, where she served as Associate Director.

Her professional background covers several premium sectors, including fashion, watches, jewellery, automotive, hospitality, residential property and yachting.

That experience closely matches Relevance International’s established focus on luxury, hospitality, real estate and design.

The appointment is not an entry into a new market for the agency. Relevance already operates from London. Instead, Gilbey’s arrival adds senior capacity to an existing operation and strengthens the firm’s ability to manage established client relationships while pursuing new business.

Her role will combine client-facing responsibilities with business development and senior strategic counsel.

A senior hire rather than a market launch

The significance of Gilbey’s appointment lies primarily in the additional experience it brings to Relevance International’s London team.

Senior agency appointments can sometimes signal the opening of a new market or a major change in corporate strategy. In this case, the move is more directly connected to strengthening an established office.

Gilbey will work across existing and prospective accounts, bringing experience from multiple luxury industries to the agency’s UK and European activities.

For a specialist communications firm, that experience can be valuable because luxury clients often operate across several connected categories.

A hotel group may have interests in residential development. A luxury property brand may work with automotive or yachting partners. Fashion and jewellery companies may collaborate with hospitality businesses or destination brands.

Understanding these connections can help communications agencies develop campaigns and media strategies that reflect the wider luxury ecosystem.

Gilbey brings experience across multiple luxury sectors

Gilbey’s career at Mercury Communications provided exposure to a broad selection of premium consumer and property categories.

Her experience includes fashion, watches, jewellery, automotive, hospitality, residential property and yachting.

Each sector has its own media landscape and communications requirements, but they share an emphasis on reputation, brand positioning and high-value audiences.

Hospitality and residential property, in particular, often require communications strategies that combine corporate reputation with destination, design and lifestyle storytelling.

Yachting and automotive similarly sit within a broader luxury ecosystem where brand perception and exclusivity can influence purchasing decisions.

Gilbey’s cross-sector background therefore gives Relevance an experienced practitioner whose knowledge extends beyond a single luxury category.

Client service is central to the new role

One of Gilbey’s key responsibilities will be client service.

For communications agencies, senior client management involves more than overseeing individual campaigns.

It can include understanding a client’s commercial objectives, identifying reputational risks, advising leadership teams, coordinating internal specialists and ensuring that communications activity supports wider business goals.

This becomes particularly important for international luxury brands.

A campaign developed for the UK market may need to work alongside activity in the United States, Middle East or other European markets.

A director with experience across several luxury categories can help connect these requirements while maintaining a clear focus on the individual client’s positioning.

Business development is another priority

Gilbey’s role will also include business development, giving her responsibility for contributing to Relevance International’s growth.

For an independent agency, senior-level business development can be particularly important.

Winning new accounts depends not only on creative ideas or media relationships but also on demonstrating relevant sector expertise and showing potential clients that the agency understands their commercial environment.

Gilbey’s background across luxury, hospitality, property and lifestyle categories provides a broad platform for developing new relationships.

Her experience may be particularly relevant to companies operating at the intersection of these sectors, where traditional industry boundaries are becoming less distinct.

Relevance already has an international footprint

Relevance International is not a new entrant to the UK market.

The agency has an existing international footprint spanning New York, Los Angeles, London and Dubai.

This gives it direct representation across major luxury markets in North America, Europe and the Middle East.

The firm’s Dubai office opened in 2025, extending its presence in a region where luxury, hospitality, destination development and real estate are significant areas of commercial activity.

Gilbey’s appointment therefore fits within a broader effort to build senior capacity around an established international structure.

The London office can provide a European base for clients requiring communications support in the UK and potentially coordination with Relevance’s other locations.

Why international coordination matters to luxury clients

Luxury brands frequently operate across multiple markets.

A hotel group may target travellers from North America, Europe and Asia while operating properties in several countries.

Real estate developers may market projects to international buyers.

Luxury lifestyle companies can similarly require consistent positioning across geographically dispersed audiences.

For agencies, the challenge is to provide local market expertise without creating disconnected communications strategies.

Relevance’s office structure gives it an opportunity to coordinate campaigns across its locations.

Gilbey’s London appointment adds another senior point of contact within that network.

The value for clients will ultimately depend on how effectively those offices work together and whether international scale translates into seamless delivery.

An independent model in a competitive market

Relevance International operates as an independent, woman-owned communications agency, rather than being part of a major global holding-company network.

That positioning can provide advantages for clients seeking specialist expertise and direct access to senior agency leadership.

It can also create challenges.

Large communications networks typically offer extensive geographical coverage, shared technology, specialist teams and global infrastructure.

Independent agencies need to compete through expertise, agility, relationships and the quality of senior involvement.

For Relevance, its specialisation in luxury, hospitality, real estate and design is therefore a central component of its competitive proposition.

Gilbey’s experience adds depth to that proposition.

Luxury communications remains highly competitive

The luxury communications sector includes a wide range of independent specialists and international networks.

Agencies compete on several factors, including sector knowledge, media relationships, creative capabilities, senior access and international coverage.

Relevance’s position is particularly focused on luxury, hospitality, real estate and design.

Other specialist firms have overlapping capabilities across luxury, fashion, travel, lifestyle and hospitality.

That makes senior talent an important differentiator.

A director with experience across multiple premium categories can potentially strengthen an agency’s ability to understand clients whose businesses span several sectors.

However, a new appointment alone does not fundamentally change the competitive landscape.

Its practical impact depends on whether the additional senior capacity improves client delivery, business development and cross-market coordination.

Hospitality remains an important specialist area

Gilbey’s hospitality experience is particularly relevant to Relevance’s existing sector focus.

The hospitality industry has become increasingly connected to luxury lifestyle, real estate, design and travel.

Hotels are no longer marketed solely around rooms and amenities. Communications campaigns increasingly highlight architecture, food and beverage, wellness, local culture, sustainability, residential offerings and experiences.

This creates a communications environment requiring knowledge of several adjacent luxury sectors.

Relevance’s combined focus on hospitality, real estate, design and luxury gives it an established position within this intersection.

Gilbey’s background across these categories could strengthen that expertise within the London operation.

Residential property and hospitality increasingly overlap

The connection between hospitality and residential property is another important part of the market.

Luxury hotel companies and property developers increasingly operate branded residences, while residential developments can incorporate hotel-style services and amenities.

For communications agencies, this convergence creates more complex storytelling requirements.

A project may need to appeal simultaneously to property buyers, hotel guests, investors and lifestyle audiences.

Gilbey’s experience across residential property and hospitality could be useful in developing communications strategies for businesses operating in this space.

Yachting and automotive add broader luxury expertise

Gilbey’s experience in yachting and automotive also expands the range of luxury categories represented within her background.

These industries share several characteristics with high-end hospitality, including premium positioning, international audiences and strong lifestyle associations.

Luxury brands in these categories frequently rely on events, partnerships, experiential marketing and high-profile media coverage.

Experience across these environments can help communications professionals understand how different luxury audiences interact with brands.

For Relevance, that cross-sector knowledge can support campaigns that connect hospitality with other parts of the luxury economy.

The London office gains additional senior capacity

The practical effect of Gilbey’s appointment is to give Relevance’s London operation another senior leader with experience across multiple luxury markets.

Her remit covers both existing client work and new business, meaning she will have responsibilities on both sides of the agency’s growth equation.

Client retention depends on strong delivery and trusted counsel.

Business development depends on identifying potential clients and demonstrating relevant expertise.

Having a senior executive involved in both functions can help create continuity between what an agency promises during the pitch process and what it delivers afterwards.

What the appointment means for clients

For existing clients, Gilbey’s arrival potentially provides additional senior expertise and capacity within the London team.

For prospective clients, it strengthens Relevance’s leadership offering across luxury and adjacent sectors.

However, the real measure of the appointment will be operational.

Clients are likely to benefit most if Gilbey’s experience translates into stronger strategic advice, faster access to senior decision-makers, better cross-market coordination and more effective business development support.

An international office network is valuable when clients experience it as a connected service rather than a collection of geographically separate teams.

That will be an important test for Relevance as it continues to develop its international footprint.

A measured expansion of Relevance’s London capability

Freddie Gilbey’s appointment represents a targeted strengthening of Relevance International’s existing London operation rather than a dramatic strategic shift.

Her background across fashion, watches, jewellery, automotive, hospitality, residential property and yachting aligns closely with the agency’s specialist luxury positioning.

Her new responsibilities across client service, business development and senior counsel also give her a broad role within the organisation.

For Relevance, the appointment adds experienced leadership at a time when luxury brands increasingly require communications partners capable of operating across multiple categories and international markets.

For clients, the potential benefit lies in deeper specialist expertise combined with access to Relevance’s wider offices in New York, Los Angeles and Dubai.

The appointment itself is only one part of that proposition.

Its longer-term significance will depend on how effectively Relevance converts additional senior capacity into stronger client relationships, new business and coordinated international delivery.

For an independent agency competing against both specialist boutiques and larger global networks, that execution will remain the most important measure of growth.