Drew Wilson
The Southern Group bested its previous quarterly record in lobbying pay, snagging nearly $8.9 million during the second quarter.
According to newly filed Q2 compensation reports, the firm led by founder Paul Bradshaw earned an estimated $8.87 million during the April-through-June reporting period, placing it in the No. 1 spot among all lobbying firms in the state.
Florida Politics estimates lobbying pay based on the middle number of the per-client ranges firms listed on their compensation reports. Contracts are reported in $10,000 increments up to $50,000. Firms are also required to register overall earnings ranges. However, firm-level ranges top out at $1 million, a hurdle most Top 10 earning firms quickly cleared.
The Southern Group’s Q2 haul included nearly $5.37 million in legislative lobbying pay and an additional $3.50 million in earnings lobbying the Governor, Cabinet and state agencies. The combined total is a $180,000 increase over Q1 2024 and continues the firm’s long-running quarter-over-quarter growth streak. Since 2022, the firm’s revenues have grown from roughly $6 million a quarter to $8 million-plus.
Additionally, The Southern Group was the only major lobbying firm to report a revenue increase over the first quarter, as explained in this chart:
With a client list approaching 400, TSG’s team represents more clients than any other lobbying firm in the state, and many names on their compensation reports are well known national and international corporations, such as Airbnb, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Siemens Corporation, Royal Caribbean and FedEx.
The firm also represents Apple, which is in a continual horse race with Microsoft for the No. 1 company by market cap worldwide — both are valued at more than $3 trillion.
The firm’s legislative compensation report listed five contracts that broke the $50,000 threshold for range reporting: Vestcor Companies ($65,000), GuideWell Group ($54,000), Metro Development Group ($53,000), Friends of Florida Iron & Steel ($52,000) and Aramark Correctional Services ($51,000). They were followed by seven contracts in the $40,000-to-$50,000 range, a list that includes Disney, gaming company Caesars, TECO and the Florida Sheriffs Association.
The firm’s executive branch report was topped by Goldman Sachs, a more than 150-year-old investment bank that ranks as the No. 55 company in the Fortune 500. It paid $62,000 for The Southern Group’s executive branch lobbying expertise in the first quarter.
The $8.87 million Q2 puts The Southern Group on track to best its $31.48 million tally for last year, which placed it in the No. 1 spot on Florida Politics’ Top 25 lobbying firm rankings for 2023.
Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms faced a Aug. 14 deadline to file compensation reports for the period covering April 1 through June 30. Compensation reports for the third quarter are due to the state on Nov. 14.
