Hume Brophy
Hume Brophy is a PR and lobbying firm with offices in London, Dublin and Brussels.
Lobbying for big tobacco
British American Tobacco is one of the firm's major clients, along with shopkeepers' trade body The National Federation of Retail Newsagents, which has fought a high-profile campaign in the fight against a tobacco display ban in UK shops.
In February 2011 the Guardian revealed that Hume Brophy had emailed UK MPs claiming a tobacco display ban would have a "devastating effect on the small business sector in your constituency". [1]
- More than 80 MPs backed the federation's campaign – and smaller shops were exempted from the ban on behind-the-counter displays for 18 months, which was a significant victory.
- BAT confirmed that Hume Brophy had attended meetings between BAT and the federation in which the campaign was discussed. However, BAT denied it used "underhand tactics" or that the federation was a front for the company.[2]
However a former federation president, Colin Finch told the Guardian: "The federation is a puppet of the tobacco industry." He accused tobacco companies of using "retailers to legitimise their campaign" and said tobacco money flowed into the federation "discreetly" via sponsorship of trade events, annual conferences, seminars, meetings and dinners.[1]
People
- John Hume, Founding Partner
- Eoin Brophy, Founding Partner
- Conor Foley, Partner EU
- Karl Brophy, Partner [3]
- Steve McCool - Partner and Head of UK business.
Clients
Hume Brophy does not publish a client list but says it works for:[5] Investment banks, Stockbroking firms, Investment management houses, Hedge fund management companies, Funds of hedge funds, Fund administration, Law firms, Accountancy/Audit firms, Insurance brokerages, Mortgage providers, Airports, Industry Associations, Technology groups, Defense and security agencies.
- British American Tobacco[1]
- National Federation of Retail Newsagents[1]
- European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)[6]
- Grant Thornton[6]
- Otkritie[6]
- Clear Path Analysis[6]
- Dillon Eustace[6]
- First State Investments [7]
Contact
Hume Brophy London Office 31 Davies Street Mayfair London W1K 4LW
Hume Brophy Dublin Office 12 Herbert St Dublin 2 Ireland
Hume Brophy Brussels Office 30 Rue de Spa 1000 Brussels Belgium
Website:http://www.humebrophy.com
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jamie Doward and Alex Ascherson Tobacco firms accused of funding campaign to keep cigarettes on display, guardian.co.uk, Saturday 26 February 2011, accessed 9 June 2011
- ↑ Jaime Doward,British American Tobacco admits funding campaign against display ban, guardian.co.uk, Saturday 28 May 2011, accessed 9 June 2011
- ↑ Hume Brophy Partners, accessed 13 January 2009
- ↑ Hedge funds 'must improve look', PR week October 2008
- ↑ Hume Brophy website accessed Jan 08
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Hume Brophy, Our Clients in the news, company website, accessed 9 June 2011
- ↑ First State Investments (client) celebrates 10 years in the UK and Europe. For more information contact belinda.marks@humebrophy.com, Twitter, accessed 11 October 2011
