Hume Brophy

Hume Brophy is a PR and lobbying firm with offices in London, Dublin and Brussels.

Hume Brophy, London Office: 1 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1BR (round the corner from Alternative Investment Management Association)

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".

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.

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.

People

• John Hume, Founding Partner
• Eoin Brophy, Founding Partner
• Conor Foley, Partner EU
• Maria Cryan, Partner
• Steve McCool - Partner and Head of UK business.

Previous partners: Karl Brophy, Partner

Senior team

Umar Ahmed | Robert Condon | Maria Cryan Philippe Hamon James Harvey | Adam Honeysett-Watts | Lorna Jennings | Gerry Lumsden | Belinda Marks | Claire Marnham | Chris Mehigan | Herman Neukermans | Matthew Orman | Simon Pettinger | Kelly Rawlinson | Dualta Redmond | Kevin Sammon | Anna Sedzik | Trevor Smith | Gary Titley | Karen White |

Former staff

Matthew Kopetski - Legal advisor from November 2009-December 2011, now a commercial specialist at the US State Department's US Mission to the European Union since July 2012

Clients

Client list as of December 2011: Clients generating a turnover of 200000 € - 250000 €: European Travel Retail Council Clients generating a turnover of 150000 € - 200000 €: LCH.Clearnet Group Clients generating a turnover of 100000 € - 150000 €: Alternative Investment Management Association | Aon | Chatham Financial | Deloitte | Trafigura Clients generating a turnover of 50000 € - 100000 €: Burger King | Dublin Airport Authority | Meat & Livestock Australia | Monsanto | Smiths Detection Group | Wholesale Market Brokers' Association Clients with turnover below 50000 €: BNY Mellon | CME Group | FX Alliance (FXall) | International Rugby Board | London Energy Brokers' Association | Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia | Symphony Environmental Technologies

Hume Brophy previously did not publish a client list but says it worked for: 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.

Previous clients included:

• British American Tobacco
• National Federation of Retail Newsagents
• Alternative Investment Management Association
• European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)
• Grant Thornton
• Otkritie
• Clear Path Analysis
• Dillon Eustace
• First State Investments
• Scipion
• Quanthouse
• Equilend -
• Bondlend
• Insparo Asset Management
• Veritas Asset Management - "Hume Brophy have taken the time to understand our business, culture and the individual personalities involved in our firm. This depth of understanding has allowed them to efficiently manage our interaction with the press and maximize coverage via a professionally executed campaign. The team at Hume Brophy stand out from their competitors. The senior individuals are involved in the relationship on a day-to-day basis and they have become an integral part of our team.” Richard Meyrick, Director, Head of Sales and Marketing

Public Affairs clients and their accolades

• Nikko Asset Management - “Hume Brophy presented us with a thorough and proactive plan to position the company as the world’s leading Japanese & Asian fund management company and they have been highly successful in raising our profile with journalists from across the investment spectrum.” Charles Beazley, Nikko AM President (Europe) Also 'Interest Group & Association Management'.
• Qinetiq - Counsel in regulatory affairs to QinetiQ Airport Technologies. “Given their substantial expertise with the aviation sector, Hume Brophy was the perfect partner for QAT. Hume Brophy designed a comprehensive contact programme with senior airport executives across four continents that provided QAT with a platform to market its automatic FOD detection system. Their assistance in lobbying for regulatory changes at both national and EU level has been first-class.” Phil McLachlan, Managing Director
• European Travel Retail Council (ETRC). EU Advocacy and Issues Management: “Hume Brophy is a firm that delivers. Their highly-experienced team, understands the intricacies of the decision-making process and knows exactly where you need to be to influence decisions in your favour. In recent years, Hume Brophy’s professional advice and essential guidance has ensured that the European duty-free retail industry has successfully defended its interests against a range of regulatory threats at EU and member-state level.” Keith Spinks, Secretary General, ETRC

Contact

Hume Brophy London Office 1 Fetter Lane London EC4A 1BR

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