On 18 June, the Malta Tourism Authority announced the appointment of Media Consulta International Holding AG as its new communications partner, signing a three-year contract for advertising and marketing services, with an option to extend for a further year, and a EUR7 million annual account.

The choice was arrived at after a lengthy international tendering process.

Although Media Consulta have still not begun to implement the contract (expected around September), the agency has done some work for Air Malta in Germany and the airline is reported to be happy with the results achieved so far, doubts are now being expressed on some of the details announced at the time.

It was stated at the time of the signing of the contract that Media Consulta “is the only German agency with a network covering all member States and potential candidate countries of the EU, as well as global economic centres.

In 2006 the gross income of the MC Network worldwide amounted to EUR206.7 million (with billings of EUR1,378.7 million) of which EUR38.2 million (on billings of EUR254.8 million) were in Germany alone’.

It was also stated that “the agency is one of the fastest growing in Europe, and in the last year alone has won more than 20 national and international accounts, creating an additional 184 jobs in Europe. The network currently employs 765 full time staff members in Europe and 1,435 worldwide”.

But a search through an international credit rating agency has elicited rather different information.

Details have been found on five of the seven known components of Media Consulta International Holding AG:

• Media Consulta International Holding AG, with an address in Berlin, employs 100 people.

• Media Consulta Deutschland GmbH, also located in Berlin, and focusing on public relations services, employs 104 people and registered estimated sales of EUR6 million in the last ascertainable year.

• Media Consulta Sport and Entertainment GmbH, located in Cologne, employs 20 people and registered estimated sales of EUR3 million.

• Media Consulta Interactive GmbH, also located in Cologne, employs 10 people and registered sales of EUR1 million.

• Media Consulta UK Ltd, with a registered address in Pembridge Square, London, employs just two people and registered a loss of EUR23,411 on sales of EUR209,000.

Furthermore, according to Dun & Bradstreet Inc.’s European Comprehensive Report, Media Consulta register three on the D&B Risk Evaluator scale where four is the worst level and one the best. The D&B Maximum Credit for Media Consulta is EUR115,041.

There is also a certain amount of confusion regarding the exact relations between Media Consulta International and Media Consulta in Malta.

The media-consulta webpage says that Media Consulta International Ltd is based in Valletta. Experts in the Maltese and international markets (The Russian Federation and |EU accession countries), this full-service agency, it said, services the marketing and communications needs of national and international clients from a variety of business sectors, the media, politics and sports. It claims that prominent clients include Reebok, the UN, and even the Malta Tourism Authority and the ATP Tour.

There are three companies registered under the Media Consulta name in Malta.

• Media Consulta International Ltd is an offshore company, registered in 1993 with Martin Manduca and Andrew Warrington as its directors and a registered office in Col. Savona Street.

• Media Consulta International Ltd is a company with Andrew Warrington as its director and Savona Holdings Ltd as its shareholder, a registered office at Sir A Bartolo Street, Ta’ Xbiex, and Andrew Chetcuti Ganado as its secretary.

• Media Consulta Malta Ltd is a company with Andrew Warrington as its director and Mr Warrington and Harald Zulauf as its shareholders with Theresa Sullivan as secretary and an address in Sappers Street, Valletta.