<p><strong>From:</strong> John Soden &lt;soden.j@gmail.com&gt;<br />
<strong>Sent:</strong> 10 August 2020 17:00<br />
<strong>To:</strong> Stephen Nurse &lt;nurse_stephen@hotmail.com&gt;<br />
<strong>Cc:</strong> Nicholas Curtis &lt;n.curtis123@btinternet.com&gt;<br />
<strong>Subject:</strong> Re: The Harcourt</p>

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<p>As discussed I spoke to Rob. I had sent him the letter before the call.</p>

<p>He opened by saying that on the basis of the stuff about Ducalian and separation it would probably be the end of any chance they would have to get involved. I said that was probably an accurate assessment if it came to it but the purpose of the letter at this stage was to show JM how bad it could be. If he saw sense, sat down with us and we agree a parting of the ways there would be no need to take the attack on the management agreements and breach of fiduciary duties any further. In that case, subject to seeing how we got on with other operators, if they were the best option we might well be able to go forward.</p>

<p>He is clearly feeling uncomfortable, still can&rsquo;t believe how bad JM has been and thinks they have made a mistake. When they were discussing separation they had asked him where money was coming from because it wasn&rsquo;t practical to think the pubs could pay management fees. JM has said from savings.</p>

<p>On the management contract and how much Harcourt Inns is charging they had asked at the time about management fees for operations and he had been evasive. He said it had never been Ducalian intention to charge a share of profits if losses were being made - the lawyers had put that in.</p>

<p>Ski trip - he has no evidence that JM didn&rsquo;t pay for himself but thinks it very unlikely that he did.</p>

<p>I said we would keep in touch as we worked our way through and asked him to give any thoughts on the letter or other info he could.&nbsp;</p>

<p>So I haven&rsquo;t closed the door but he knows it is pretty unlikely we&rsquo;ll be able to deal with them. But also they are feeling exposed and uncomfortable from a personal point of view -so that is helpful.</p>

<p>I also suggested in passing that obviously if they pulled a rabbit out of the hat on Titan then that would help sentiments for those who were invested in storage and pubs!</p>

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<p>Sent from my iPad</p>

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<p>On 10 Aug 2020, at 09:50, Stephen Nurse &lt;<a href="mailto:nurse_stephen@hotmail.com">nurse_stephen@hotmail.com</a>&gt; wrote:</p>

<p>﻿ Happy to join a call. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Do you think it is worth holding fire on the news and ask until we see if JM is going to compromise?</p>

<p>Stephen Nurse. 447588 717515</p>

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<p>On 10 Aug 2020, at 08:51, John Soden &lt;<a href="mailto:soden.j@gmail.com">soden.j@gmail.com</a>&gt; wrote:</p>

<p>﻿ Stephen,</p>

<p>I have had a message from Rob Cherry this morning asking what is happening.</p>

<p>I can speak to him this afternoon and will relay our views. I will also tell him we will send him the letter. Overall objective is to get them to walk away from any claims against pubs and if possible drop claims against JM if he is prepared to do a major compromise with us. It is good that they are feeling uncomfortable.</p>

<p>Do you want to join a Zoom? or I can do it one to one on the phone.</p>

<p>Sent from my iPad</p>

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