Read on Twitter
1. Just got off the phone with a source who shared a story with me of remarkable (but unsurprising) corporate hypocrisy. It involves the Related Companies, a real estate company with over $60 billion in owned/managed assets, and one of its investments, the fitness chain @Equinox
2. You may have heard of the Related Companies last year when the majority owner and Chairman Stephen Ross hosted a fundraiser for President Trump. That led some @Equinox gym/Soul Cycle members to drop their memberships and boycott the company. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/09/who-is-stephen-ross-billionaire-criticized-his-high-end-trump-fundraiser/
3. The video in the first post is an interview with the CEO of Related Companies Jeff Blau. In the interview he is rather clear that Related Companies (which is a big landlord) isn't going to accept excuses of non payment of rent from companies/people that are well capitalized.
4. In the interview he says that so-far, in April, 88% of residential tenants have paid their rent; 95% of commercial tenants have paid; and 26% of retail tenants have paid.
Blau is clear, if you have the ability as a tenant, you must pay.
Blau is clear, if you have the ability as a tenant, you must pay.
5. In fact, Blau went a step further & mentioned Related Companies would not accept "blanket letters to landlords"
Well here's where I tell you @Equinox Fitness (Related & Ross are investors) has sent a blanket letter to landlords saying it won't pay rent in April
Well here's where I tell you @Equinox Fitness (Related & Ross are investors) has sent a blanket letter to landlords saying it won't pay rent in April
6. My source read one of those letters to me, it was from @Equinox Fitness CFO to a landlord saying that the company would not be paying rent in April. I know of at least two other letters sent by Equinox to landlords.
7. So the CEO of Related Companies is boldly saying they won't accept blanket letters to landlords and that well capitalized companies had to pay their rent, but @Equinox (which they used to own fully but have since sold off some chunks to others) is not following these standards
8. This isn't the first example of hypocrisy, @erinvandermeer was told by @Equinox her $8,000 invoice would not be paid. After she tweeted about it, they reached out to her and told her she would be paid after all. https://twitter.com/erinvandermeer/status/1247213743844573184
9. Related Companies may come back to me or anyone who covers this and say Equinox is an investment of Ross/Related whose 300 locations were forced to close, taking the fitness chain to zero revenue overnight and that it fits the standard of a company that isn't well-capitalized
10. But I suspect that excuse would not be accepted by Related Companies if a major company came to them with the same excuse if that company was partially owned by a real estate group with over $60 billion in owned/managed assets.
