Clive Palmer is famous for talking a big game, but he has also been doing more than a spot of bargain hunting since the start of the year. His highest profile purchase was the former Club Med resort at Bora Bora in Tahiti, French Polynesia, which set him back about $10 million. Palmer said he bought the resort for “relaxation, serenity and because no?one else was going to buy it”. But Palmer has also been buying closer to home. Since the start of the year Palmer has bought five properties around the Gold Coast suburb of Paradise Point outlaying a total of $5.95 million for what Property Observer has described as a series of bargains. Palmer has not elaborated on his motivation for the residential property investments, although they would appear to be a long-term bet on the depressed Gold Coast market.
Property billionaire Lang Walker seems to be constantly trading – this year he has bought, sold and even swapped property assets. One of his recent buys was 56.7?hectares of land near Maitland in New South Wales. It’s a site where he is planning a $200 million, 400-house development. The site, at Gillieston Heights, cost Walker $11 million. It has development approval for house and land packages. Walker has also bought land in inner Brisbane, where he plans a $100 million apartment project.
Sydney apartment king Harry Triguboff is a well-known bargain hunter and has picked up a number of development sites in the last few years from sellers desperate to offload. His latest buy came in July when he paid $48.5 million for the Lewisham Estates site in Lewisham. While the site is potentially a great buy – it has approval for up to 430 units and great proximity to public transport – it has been controversial, with residents protesting the proposed tower development. Harry might have some fun securing the final development approvals.
Perth-based billionaire Stan Perron has made one of the biggest buys of the year, spending just under $700 million to take half stakes in three of Centro’s biggest shopping centres: Perth’s Galleria, Adelaide’s Colonnades and Melbourne’s The Glen. It was a huge deal for the recovering Centro and a big deal for the retail sector. But it also represents a strong endorsement in the retail sector by the canny Perron, who now has 80% of his extensive property portfolio in retail.
Well, we really couldn’t finish without mentioning the highest-profiled Rich List investment of the year – Gina Rinehart’s purchase of a substantial stake in Fairfax. Her investment stands out from these other entrepreneurs for a very good reason – hers is not a buy motivated by money.
James Thomson is a former editor of BRW’s Rich 200 and the publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
