“The topic of restructuring is on everyone’s minds,” Tony Johnson admitted.

However, constrained by disclosure rules for listed companies, he would not discuss possible consolidation of the many and dominant transport operations.

Nevertheless, the AA Scott board of four - Johnson, transport veteran Bruce Grubb, Allan Scott’s son Ray and daughter Zena Winser (whose husband Legh runs K&S) - has restructuring issues under active consideration, he said.

The Adelaide lawyer’s close involvement with the Scott empire stems from the collapse of the Bank of Adelaide, then the businessman’s principal banker. Allan Scott, a shareholder as well as customer, strenuously opposed the proposed takeover by ANZ Bank through a scheme of arrangement and Johnson ran the case through the SA Supreme Court.

Eventually, with some pressure from the Tonkin Liberal government, the matter was settled but, typically, Scott gained “a good commercial result” and the relationship with Johnson grew. The legal adviser was invited to join the boards of South-East Telecasters and K&S in the mid-1980s. He became chairman of K&S in 2005.

The various and varied transport arms seem to offer great scope for rationalisation, particularly at a time when they are struggling with the economic downturn. Scott Corp suffered a 36 percent slump in first-half profit to $1.04 million on revenue of $72.9 million and the larger, 800-truck K&S, despite an 11 per cent rise in revenues to $248 million and only a 3 percent slip to $9.5 million in interim net profit, has flagged a 15 percent drop in full-year profit for 2008-2009.

While Johnson is unwilling to discuss any fundamental changes to the transport empire, he points out there was some restructuring under Allan Scott’s leadership, including sales of TV and radio stations and several city and country hotels.

Other business are changing already. For a start, Johnson said, the board does not share Allan‘s passion for horse racing and “it is not the current intention” to retain the bloodstock business, while some of the rural properties in SA, Victoria and Queensland have been sold.

“Allan couldn’t resist farming,” Johnson said. Ray Scott has inherited a love of the land, so some of the properties will be retained.

The board also is considering the future of the remaining hotels, including Mac’s Hotel at Mount Gambier and the Robe Hotel.

The media portfolio, since the sale of South-East Telecasters to WIN TV and the divesting of radio stations, contains Mount Gambier’s influential Border Watch newspaper and the Penola Pennant. “It’s a good little business,” Johnson said.