Then we have GlaxoSmithKline and a recent case of drug fraud. A fine of $3bn (£1.9bn) will be a bitter pill (get it?) for shareholders. In an IT business I am involved in, we are told there is a policy in local government to procure services from small and medium-sized enterprises in favour of larger corporations. And the USA does not like large British businesses either (look at BP).
Are there parallels for us in hospitality? Possibly. Anti-pub group lobbyists are dying to get on the bandwagon. However, our experience is there are many bullying organisations out there in the public and private sector and it is not only landlords.
I attended the PMA’s Tenanted Pubco Summit on 27 June. It was the third one I have been to and the second where I have participated in a panel. These events are always fascinating from the perspective of a tenant looking over the fence, and this one did not disappoint.
However, the surprise for me was the shift in language of most people towards equalising the landlord and tenant relationship.
Peter Hansen [founder of Sapient Corporate Finance] pointed out that private-equity funders looking at the tenanted sector remain very concerned to ensure funded businesses are sustainable for the tenant — and they want landlords to prove it.
Obvious logic really — if you rely on a tenant for income, ensure it keeps coming and avoid accidents waiting to happen. This sentiment was backed by landlord organisations large and small.
The only surprise was that, according to research, landlords struggle to understand if tenants are actually profitable, which I find odd — it’s not rocket science.
It felt like a parallel universe, but credit where credit is due — most see the landlord-tenant relationship as symbiotic and tenants need to make a secure profit.
If landlords carry on like this, they are in danger of re-engaging with tenants and putting MPs and trade lobbyists out of business. Careful…