Latest news with #Spotless
The Australian
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Ventia and Spotless deny ACCC price fixing suit; inside the court documents
'Good we have 12 per cent now,' the BGIS staffer allegedly texted. His counterpart at Spotless allegedly replied: 'Same.' These text messages detailed in a court document filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission go to the heart of a cartel case brought by the regulator and defended by Spotless, which is owned by ASX-listed Downer, and its co-accused Ventia. The Department of Defence contractors are alleged to have conspired to push up their prices, which they deny, for everyday services like laundry, catering and pest control. For the first time, the substance of their defence can be reported. The ACCC statement of claim lodged on Christmas Eve also makes allegations about another operator, BGIS's role, in the alleged attempt to increase fees between April 2019 and August 2022. But BGIS, which was sold by Brookfield in 2019 for $1bn to CCMP Capital Advisors, is not a party to the case, and not listed as a respondent. The competition cop alleged between April 30-May 1, 2019, Spotless made an arrangement with BGIS to tell Defence it would apply a mark-up of 10 per cent on the value of estate management and operation services. Spotless expressly denies this, according to its defence. Spotless and Ventia are currently delivering so-called EMOS (estate maintenance and operations services) contracts to Defence worth about $4bn and $5.8bn respectively, across more than 200 Australian Defence Force bases and other properties, according to the ACCC. Defence told contractors it intended to allocate at least $15m in funds to the 'EMOS providers' for particular works to be delivered before the end of the 2018-19 financial year, according to the statement of claim. The providers were not entitled to more than a 10 per cent mark up on the value of work, it further alleged. Defence executive Shane Brassington emailed a number of contractors on April 30, 2019 and said: 'opportunity funding is for estate improvement and not designed to give EMOS a commercial windfall come EOFY'. It is then alleged that BGIS executive Bradley Robbins texted Spotless executive Jeffrey Collins the same day beginning the following exchange: 'Mate did you see the email from DEPU, we shouldnt [sic] be doing works for no costs'. Mr Collins: 'We are holding the line.' 'Same so you charge standard 10 per cent Project fee yes'. 'yep'. The 64-page statement of claim concludes the text chat with the alleged last word from Mr Robbins: 'Good its [sic] a bit rich isn't it'. As well, the ACCC claimed by May 4, 2020, Spotless and Ventia 'made an arrangement or arrived at an understanding with each other and BGIS' they would each offer Defence supply of a 'large' volume of work on estates to be completed under a Covid-19 economic stimulus plan. 'In or around late April and early May 2020, representatives of the EMOS Providers had telephone conversations in which they discussed seeking, and understood each EMOS Provider would seek, a greater than 10 per cent mark-up from Defence,' the ACCC pleading alleged. It went on to identify a number of discussions that allegedly took place between Mr Collins, Mr Robbins and Ventia executive Gavin Campbell. The ACCC alleged that after Defence rejected an offer from Spotless executive Jacob Bonisch for a 'mark-up of 12.75 per cent on project value', Ventia wrote to Defence about the same job and offered a 10 per cent mark up. Ultimately, all three providers were offered a mark-up of 12 per cent. The ACCC claimed that between 3.23pm and 3.37pm on the afternoon of May 12, 2020, Mr Robbins texted Mr Collins and said: 'Good we have 12 per cent now'. Mr Collins allegedly replied: 'same'. Spotless and Ventia deny making an arrangement or arriving at an understanding with Ventia and BGIS 'that they would each offer to Defence to supply the STIM20 Works at a greater than 10 per cent mark-up'. Around May 13, 2022, Defence requested contractors start to deliver energy savings. The regulator claimed the contractors 'collaborated about a proposal to Defence to deliver a national energy program involving energy saving initiatives such as the installation of LED lighting, heat pumps, variable speed drives and smart meters'. The estimated program cost for the energy saving works was about $291m, comprising $117.7m for Ventia, $130.4m for Spotless and $43m for BGIS. During a meeting on August 23, 2022, the ACCC alleged Ventia executive Lena Parker said to Mr Collins and BGIS executive Thomas Haszard words to the effect that the contractors should jointly ask Defence to pay them a project management fee. 'Parker said words to the effect that the EMOS Providers should all go to Defence with a collective project management request,' the ACCC alleged. 'The EMOS Providers should go to Defence together and lobby for a program management fee,' Ms Parker allegedly conveyed, and 'the EMOS Providers should jointly ask Defence for more money for program management' the statement of claim asserts. Ventia denies this allegation and in her defence, Ms Parker claimed 'privilege against self-exposure to a penalty and in reliance on that privilege does not admit allegations in the statement of claim'. Mr Bonisch, Mr Collins, and Mr Campbell also did not admit to the allegations made against them and claimed relevant privilege. The penalties sought by the ACCC are the greater of $10m, three times the total benefit obtained, or 10 per cent of the annual turnover of the company when the conduct occurred.
Herald Sun
14-05-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Ventia and Spotless deny ACCC price fixing suit; inside the court documents
'Good we have 12 per cent now,' the BGIS staffer allegedly texted. His counterpart at Spotless allegedly replied: 'Same.' These text messages detailed in a court document filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission go to the heart of a cartel case brought by the regulator and defended by Spotless, which is owned by ASX-listed Downer, and its co-accused Ventia. The Department of Defence contractors are alleged to have conspired to push up their prices, which they deny, for everyday services like laundry, catering and pest control. For the first time, the substance of their defence can be reported. The ACCC statement of claim lodged on Christmas Eve also makes allegations about another operator, BGIS's role, in the alleged attempt to increase fees between April 2019 and August 2022. But BGIS, which was sold by Brookfield in 2019 for $1bn to CCMP Capital Advisors, is not a party to the case, and not listed as a respondent. The competition cop alleged between April 30-May 1, 2019, Spotless made an arrangement with BGIS to tell Defence it would apply a mark-up of 10 per cent on the value of estate management and operation services. Spotless expressly denies this, according to its defence. Spotless and Ventia are currently delivering so-called EMOS (estate maintenance and operations services) contracts to Defence worth about $4bn and $5.8bn respectively, across more than 200 Australian Defence Force bases and other properties, according to the ACCC. Defence told contractors it intended to allocate at least $15m in funds to the 'EMOS providers' for particular works to be delivered before the end of the 2018-19 financial year, according to the statement of claim. The providers were not entitled to more than a 10 per cent mark up on the value of work, it further alleged. Defence executive Shane Brassington emailed a number of contractors on April 30, 2019 and said: 'opportunity funding is for estate improvement and not designed to give EMOS a commercial windfall come EOFY'. It is then alleged that BGIS executive Bradley Robbins texted Spotless executive Jeffrey Collins the same day beginning the following exchange: 'Mate did you see the email from DEPU, we shouldnt [sic] be doing works for no costs'. Mr Collins: 'We are holding the line.' 'Same so you charge standard 10 per cent Project fee yes'. 'yep'. The 64-page statement of claim concludes the text chat with the alleged last word from Mr Robbins: 'Good its [sic] a bit rich isn't it'. As well, the ACCC claimed by May 4, 2020, Spotless and Ventia 'made an arrangement or arrived at an understanding with each other and BGIS' they would each offer Defence supply of a 'large' volume of work on estates to be completed under a Covid-19 economic stimulus plan. 'In or around late April and early May 2020, representatives of the EMOS Providers had telephone conversations in which they discussed seeking, and understood each EMOS Provider would seek, a greater than 10 per cent mark-up from Defence,' the ACCC pleading alleged. It went on to identify a number of discussions that allegedly took place between Mr Collins, Mr Robbins and Ventia executive Gavin Campbell. The ACCC alleged that after Defence rejected an offer from Spotless executive Jacob Bonisch for a 'mark-up of 12.75 per cent on project value', Ventia wrote to Defence about the same job and offered a 10 per cent mark up. Ultimately, all three providers were offered a mark-up of 12 per cent. The ACCC claimed that between 3.23pm and 3.37pm on the afternoon of May 12, 2020, Mr Robbins texted Mr Collins and said: 'Good we have 12 per cent now'. Mr Collins allegedly replied: 'same'. Spotless and Ventia deny making an arrangement or arriving at an understanding with Ventia and BGIS 'that they would each offer to Defence to supply the STIM20 Works at a greater than 10 per cent mark-up'. Around May 13, 2022, Defence requested contractors start to deliver energy savings. The regulator claimed the contractors 'collaborated about a proposal to Defence to deliver a national energy program involving energy saving initiatives such as the installation of LED lighting, heat pumps, variable speed drives and smart meters'. The estimated program cost for the energy saving works was about $291m, comprising $117.7m for Ventia, $130.4m for Spotless and $43m for BGIS. During a meeting on August 23, 2022, the ACCC alleged Ventia executive Lena Parker said to Mr Collins and BGIS executive Thomas Haszard words to the effect that the contractors should jointly ask Defence to pay them a project management fee. 'Parker said words to the effect that the EMOS Providers should all go to Defence with a collective project management request,' the ACCC alleged. 'The EMOS Providers should go to Defence together and lobby for a program management fee,' Ms Parker allegedly conveyed, and 'the EMOS Providers should jointly ask Defence for more money for program management' the statement of claim asserts. Ventia denies this allegation and in her defence, Ms Parker claimed 'privilege against self-exposure to a penalty and in reliance on that privilege does not admit allegations in the statement of claim'. Mr Bonisch, Mr Collins, and Mr Campbell also did not admit to the allegations made against them and claimed relevant privilege. The penalties sought by the ACCC are the greater of $10m, three times the total benefit obtained, or 10 per cent of the annual turnover of the company when the conduct occurred. Originally published as Defence contractors Spotless, Ventia deny ACCC's cartel case
Los Angeles Times
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
How the Lumineers outlived stomp-clap's biggest hit
There's a version of the Lumineers story that ends about a decade ago, in the wake of the two-piece folk-rock band's struggle to duplicate the pop success of its debut single. The platonic ideal of the Obama-era stomp-clap sound also purveyed by Mumford & Sons and Of Monsters and Men, 2012's Grammy-nominated 'Ho Hey' made improbable stars of singer-guitarist Wesley Schultz and drummer Jeremiah Fraites, who'd come up playing house shows and open mics then suddenly found themselves on Top 40 radio amid the likes of Maroon 5 and Flo Rida. But if the Denver-based Lumineers have never returned to the upper reaches of the Hot 100, they've arguably achieved something better, quietly becoming one of rock's top live acts while exerting a crucial influence on the next generation of acoustic singer-songwriters. In 2023, Zach Bryan recruited the duo for 'Spotless,' a track from his chart-topping self-titled album; last year, Noah Kahan brought Schultz and Fraites onstage during a gig at Boston's Fenway Park. Then there's Shaboozey, who's said the Lumineers helped inspire his smash 'A Bar Song (Tipsy).' 'Zach has a tattoo of the 'Cleopatra' logo on his arm,' Fraites said recently, referring to the band's 2016 LP. 'And Noah, we were emailing once and he said, 'There'd be no Noah without the Lumineers.' It's kind of hard to wrap my head around.' Last month, Schultz, 42, and Fraites, 39, released their fifth album, 'Automatic,' which they'll support on the road this year with dates including stadium shows at Fenway and New York's Citi Field and a two-night stint at Inglewood's Kia Forum in August. Schultz spoke about it the other day in a conversation at the Sunset Marquis, part of a lengthy promotional trek he said was keeping him away from his wife and two young children longer than he'd been away in a while. 'My son Lenny's school had a music day where whoever wants to play can go up and play,' he said, dressed in jeans and a weathered Talking Heads T-shirt. 'I'm just going to be there with him, and then spontaneously he's like, 'I want to play 'Ophelia,' Dad — you come play with me.' He whispered the whole song, and I sang it over him.' You ever get self-conscious at school as Mr. Rock Star Dad?I think I'm blissfully unaware of whether that ever comes into the conversation. I have a friend who got a date with a dude from one of the apps. They were meeting at a park, and I went with her just to keep her company for a second in case it was weird. Halfway through the hang, he goes, 'So, what, you're in like a Lumineers cover band?' The songs might be famous, but as individuals we're not. And I wouldn't say that's necessarily by design, but it's not not by design. I like to joke that we're this generation's Steve Miller Band. I never gave a f— what that guy looked like. I never knew what he was up to. I'd just listen to his greatest hits and be like, 'This is a vibe.' There's something to be said for a cult of like shaky ground to build anything off of. Part of it is that I covered a lot of songs when I first started playing guitar, and if you played a good song in a bar, the room lit up. It wasn't like the artist was there playing it. I used to do 'My City of Ruins' by Bruce Springsteen, which isn't even a hit, and the room would just stop. What made you sure it wasn't you?Because then I'd play some of my own stuff and the place would go [fart sound]. I've never considered the Lumineers as elder statesmen —Same here. But you've become a touchstone act for a bunch of younger told me — he was like, 'You're my Tom Petty, bro' [laughs]. I was kind of stunned, because I still feel like a novice. How'd you end up on 'Spotless'?Looking back, this is very Zach Bryan — what he's really like in person — but he was playing a festival that we were also playing, and he came over to watch our set. He wanted to say hello, and he just showed up side-stage and our security was like, 'Whoa, whoa — where's your pass?' He's like, 'Oh, I was playing on the other stage.' They're like, 'No.' I only heard about this later. So I asked my manager to get me his number, and his manager was like, 'He'll call you — I'm not gonna give you his number.' All right, whatever. Sent him a message on Instagram, didn't hear back for months. Then one day I get a message, he's responding on Instagram. He's like, 'Dude, you're one of my idols.' I told him, 'Congratulations on all the success, and hopefully we can hang out one day.' He's like, 'We should write a song.' I'm like, 'Yeah, man — if you ever have a good idea, here's my number.' An hour later, he sends me an idea, and that was 'Spotless.' We went back and forth, but it was hilarious because as I was recording in my basement, I was supposed to be barbecuing for a bunch of friends I was hosting. They were all just waiting in my backyard as I recorded my parts. I'm like, 'There's this guy, Zach Bryan, and this song's gonna come out…' Within a year, they were all like, 'I've heard of that guy now.' Does it make you feel old to be described as someone's idol?I don't know — I mean, yeah. That would sting if I wasn't excited about this record we made. It's 20 years for me and Jer writing together, and I'd never felt more possessed by it. Do you know why?Because it was very uninhibited. It's like a Polaroid of a candid moment — wasn't posed in any way. We didn't make any demos, so what you're hearing is the first tries and second tries. What made you write the song 'A—'? I won't be able to print the title in the L.A. Times, so let's say for the reader that it rhymes with 'Glass Bowl.'It's autobiographical. My college roommates used to always say, 'When I first met you, I thought you were an a—.' My wife: 'First time I met you, I thought you were an a—.' Enough people tell you something…But I sort of took it as a badge of honor — like, she married me. I overcame that. What I think is cool about the song is the full-circle element of it, which is like: You're probably correct — I might be an a—. But so are you. You have a dark side, you're just not showing it. You think you still strike some people that way?I'm probably less guarded. But I'm just — how do I say it? — I'm a slow burn. I think if you asked my wife, she'd tell you tons of interactions I have on a weekly basis where she's like, 'What the hell, man?' and I'm like, 'What?' In 2013, 'Ho Hey' peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Top 40 radio chart.I think it peaked at 2. My I was watching it, and I was like, I wonder if it'll ever get to 1? And it almost did. But it was at 3 for sure for at least one week [laughs]. The songs ahead of it at that week were Bruno Mars' 'Locked Out of Heaven' and Rihanna's 'Diamonds.' Everyone talked at the time about the unlikeliness of 'Ho Hey' becoming a hit. But looking back at what was around it on the chart really drives that friends would send me Howard Stern clips where he'd be running down the Top 10 and just get mad — like, 'What the f— is this?' The narrative goes that when you have a big song, you must have designed the song to be big. Things aren't a mistake, it's not an accident, there are no Cinderellas. But listen to that song and tell me that was supposed to be a hit. The essence of every interview we did at that time was: 'You guys are doing really well. Please explain.' Kind of insulting. The scary part after that was you face a fork in the road: You can either do the thing where you try to make other hits that show you weren't a one-hit wonder, or — like in our case — you just keep going and try to block it out. They tried to make 'Stubborn Love' a hit. They wanted to cut a bunch of the song — they said 4 minutes was too long. We were like, 'What do you mean? What are you gonna change?' Was that disillusioning in some way?I remember Third Eye Blind had an extra verse [in 'Semi-Charmed Life'] that I never heard until I heard the album version. I felt a little bit betrayed by that. What's that Billy Joel lyric? 'If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit / So they cut it down to 3:05.' For us it was an easy no, but a lot of artists don't always realize that they're in the driver's seat. Why did you realize it?Because I was 30-plus. Also, what are you really after when someone asks you to do something like that? What matters to you more? Is it that you wrote the song and you love it that way, or that you love the idea of people knowing your name in the supermarket? We had meetings with a bunch of managers when we changed management in 2018, and I remember one guy spent half the meeting talking about how his clients fly on private jets. I was like, 'I don't really care about jets, man — I just want to write my own music.' Jets are but people write music sometimes to have the jets — it's the tail wagging the dog. You ever wonder what would've happened if you'd agreed to the radio edit?I'd love to run a simulation just to see. But here's the trap: Let's say you have two hits [in] the Top 40 format. Now you've created a standard by which your team is evaluating success in this very strange way. You notice what the format likes, you might start to subconsciously write to meet that format. Whereas the artists that last, they just do their own thing. It's like Neil Young said: 'When I was in the middle of the road, I aimed for the ditch.' Have the Lumineers done that?Our album 'III' was probably the closest we've come. We went out of our way to make something that was overtly depressing and cathartic. Depressing and cathartic?My wife's mom was an alcoholic for most of her parental life. We bought her a little house when the band started making some money — did the hip-hop thing. Living out of that house, she could drink a gallon of Tito's vodka every day. She could order out pizza and order out alcohol so she never had to leave, to the point where she was on a La-Z-Boy with a dish mat because she couldn't get up to use the bathroom. So the album was all about that and the aftermath of that and trying to imagine what led up to it. You know how everybody says 'Pinkerton' is Weezer's best record if you're a real Weezer fan? You'd be shocked how many people say 'III' is their favorite record. By the numbers, it's not the bestselling at all, but it doesn't matter. Some of the lowest lows make for some of the highest highs. And had 'Stubborn Love' got cut, I don't know if we make 'III.' The song 'Automatic,' from the new album, has some interesting images: 'Shooting stars / Driving your electric cars / Eating at the salad bars / Praying for the rain.'The original line was 'Shooting stars / Maybe a take a trip to Mars.' I was thinking of Elon [Musk] — it wasn't about him, but it was about how idealistic but also how dark things feel right now. It's the best, most cutting-edge time to be alive, yet if you measured people's happiness, most people would tell you how depressed they are. There's that Steinbeck quote about people viewing themselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires — I'm more important than I am at my current station of life — and I feel like that's come back. There's a gluttony built into everything where if you're not careful, you're never satisfied. What's your most gluttonous tendency?I watch a lot of videos on YouTube. I try to read — I make deals with myself. But it's probably watching certain clips and getting in a weird algorithm. What's the wormhole?Lately I've been watching a lot of Coffeezilla, this guy who investigates fraud. I got into MrBallen, who tells crazy-good stories. Lot of Joe Rogan short clips. Shane Gillis is amazing. Name a creature comfort you've gotten used to even though you know it makes you kind of a brat.I keep kefir around because I don't like dealing with hotel breakfast. We have a traveling miniature gym — that makes me really happy to do something in the day. When I burn that energy, the anxiousness goes away for the show that's about to happen. And then my tour manager, her grandfather used to say, 'Life's too short to drink bad wine.' What do you drink?White Burgundy. A nice Chablis. I used to drink red wine, but I can't really as a singer now. Red wine messes with your voice?Ask any ear, nose and throat specialist who deals with singers and they'll probably tell you the same thing multiple ones have told me. Also, as a singer, if you're drinking red wine, your teeth get really dark and you look a little wild up there — a little Johnny Depp pre-dental surgery.
