Telephone agency R Fundraising will close with the loss of 99 jobs, its parent company has announced - making it the second fundraising agency to close in a week.

The decision to close R Fundraising follows shortly after the closure of telephone fundraising agency GoGen, which cost 485 jobs.

The closure was announced by R Fundraising's parent company, the Fundraising Initiatives Group, which bought R Fundraising in January.

A source close to the Fundraising Initiatives Group said the decision to close R Fundraising did not stem from the loss of any specific charity clients, but was instead due to the on-going media campaign against telephone fundraising which had "adversely changed public perception of the practice".

A statement from Fundraising Initiatives Group said: “The board has decided that current market conditions have given it no choice but to close telephone fundraising agency R Fundraising as its position has become untenable.

“The board announced earlier today that it is with regret that R Fundraising Limited will shortly be taking steps to be placed into administration, with a total of 99 staff being made redundant.”

The agency will see 82 job losses in Dunfermline and a further 17 in Manchester.

At the time of the acquisition the group said it had taken on 200 staff as a result of the acquisition. However Civil Society News understands it had already made a number of redundancies last month.

Cathy Sullivan, chief executive of the Fundraising Initiatives Group, said: “Fundraising Initiatives has stood for fundraising quality and innovation for the last 25 years.

“We reached a point where we needed to look at our own direction as well as that of our clients to ensure we remain at the forefront of professional fundraising excellence into the future. The impressive senior team now in place collectively have the experience and the kind of invigorating vision we need to do that.”

Hamish Horton, group managing director, said: “The Fundraising Initiatives Group is ready to be reshaped and sharpened in the next phase of its strategic growth. It’s an opportunity to overhaul the entire group, looking at core strengths, sales and acquisitions.

“We will be making a number of strategically phased changes in the coming months with a focus on delivering a service offering that is driven by innovation and technology, enabling fundraising to explore new opportunities.

“At the same time, it is regrettable that we begin our restructure journey with the necessary closure of R Fundraising. We are conscious that the fundraising sector is facing change and some very difficult challenges, and with this in mind we have to make tough decisions.”

The group says it is planning a major business restructure following a series of high profiles appointments in a reshuffle of its senior management team, and a full strategic review of its global business, which has taken place over the last eight weeks.

Horton, the former chief executive of Valldata, joined the board two months ago as group managing director.

Josh Pinder, previously founder and managing director of face-to-face agency Clear Fundraising and before that a senior manager at RSPB, has been appointed director of innovation. Gordon Michie, previously a director of R Fundraising, has been made group client services director. Former chief operating officer Martin Jervis left the group in June.

This story has been updated to give information about the acquisition of R Fundraising in January.