Executive Summary: December 02, 2009
By Scott Rochfort | smh.com.au | 02 December
Has a small chunk of the collapsed Babcock & Brown empire landed back in the lap of its former chief executive, Phil Green?
Green has resurfaced as a director and part-owner of Larristar Pty Ltd, a former subsidiary of the fallen investment group, in partnership with another former Babcock executive, Paul Platus. The reappearance of Green comes amid recent speculation the former Babcock chief has taken an interest in buying distressed debt.
Two weeks ago Larristar shifted its registered business address from the former Babcock headquarters in Chifley Tower to the offices of the accountancy firm Duncan Dovico in Milsons Point.
The company, founded in 1997, still seems to have one key line of credit, a $21 million facility with the French bank Credit Lyonnais.
Larristar's previous shareholders included Babcock's former head of property, Michael Maxwell, and Babcock & Brown Transaction Holdings.
Platus and Green are well acquainted. The 37-year-old Platus is a director of an investment company called Penago, through which Green used to own some of his Babcock stake.
Both are also directors of the chain of animal doctor clinics, Babtec Holdings, which is majority owned by Jim Babcock and Green.
Other key players involved in the unlisted dog doctor include the former Hoyts boss Peter Ivany and the manager of Ivany's investment business, Colin Resnick. Ivany met Green in the 1980s when he ran Hoyts and went on to have several dealings with
Babcock & Brown. Aside from taking over the former Babcock-controlled Imax cinema concern, MTM Entertainment Trust, in 2007, Ivany also made millions from buying into the original listing of the fallen investment group.
KIWI ADMIRERS
In an unexpected thawing in trans-Tasman relations, New Zealand has admitted it aspires to be more like Australia.
The country, which has incorrectly laid claim to inventing the lamington for decades, has released a government-sponsored report which offers tips on how New Zealand can close the income gap between the two countries by 2025.
The report, authored by the former Nationals leader and central banker Don Brash, suggests it would be handy for the nation to aspire to be more like its trans-Tasman cousin "not because matching Australia should be the end in itself, but because that target is, for now, a very useful proxy and benchmark".
"Provided Australia continues to succeed, its sustained strong track record and its proximity help provide a very tangible benchmark against which to assess our own economy's progress and quality of policy-making in New Zealand," says the report.
The report follows an agreement between the ruling National Party and ACT parties last year, where they both recognised "Australia as the benchmark".
"Both parties recognise that achieving this goal will require significant improvements in New Zealand institutions and policies," said the agreement. New Zealand, however, is not expected to extend its reform to the sporting field. Nor will it stop New Zealanders from refusing to use vowels in some words, eh bro.
SILENT JIM
The business empire of Jim Byrnes is in disarray after the banned company director and one-time BrisConnections defaulter lost his mobile phone last week.
"In days gone by I would have had everybody I may have cause to speak with, contact details, properly written down," Byrnes said in an emergency email.
"Move forward 2009 and my life is in turmoil, having lost my phone around lunch time Friday."
Byrnes seems to have kept all his phone numbers on his Sim card. But he has reassured those wondering if any of his secret contacts could be exposed.
"For those who are concerned, my phone was locked and it takes two separate codes to enter to get into my phone," he said.
EXIT CLAIMS
Stockland Group looks set for another claim from a former senior executive. After being slugged with a $1 million-plus claim from its sacked former head of design, David McCracken , there is talk Stockland's former head of retail development, Tim Atkins, is also seeking to be compensated for his sudden termination.
Atkins, like McCracken, is a former Lend Lease executive.
ALLCO VISIONS
Are the Allco boys still trying to get back into the leasing game? While some of the former maestros of the collapsed financial engineer have set up the new shop Sturt Capital Partners, the former Allco Finance bigwig David Veal keeps popping up as a director of several leasing businesses bearing the Allco name.
In recent weeks he has turned up as a director of leasing vehicles that seem to be involved in shipping, containerisation, aviation and property.
The Allco Finance liquidator, Ferrier Hodgson, declined to discuss the matter, only to deny cutting any deal with Veal in its sale of the aviation leasing business, which was recently sold to a Chinese outfit.
It is heartening that Veal has given his buddies at the company without a business, RHG Limited, something to do. Some of the leasing businesses Veal is a director of give their business address as the RHG offices on York Street. The John Kinghorn-chaired RHG recently staved off calls for one of its directors, the former Allco boss David Coe, to quit.
Was it also a mirage when Coe was recently spotted with another ex-Allcoer and departed chief of the Liberman family-backed aviation leasing business, Greg Woolley?
TICKING RATES
A public relations flack, with a list of past and present clients ranging from the motivational speaking powerhouse Empowernet to the former John Hewson-chaired Pulse Health, seems to be positioning himself as a leading market commentator.
Bourse Communications operative Rod North sent a media release yesterday correctly predicting that the Reserve Bank would jack up rates.
"In deciding to raise rates for the third consecutive month, the RBA would be making an unprecedented hat-trick because it also chose to put rates up in 2007 ahead of a federal election as well as continuing to put rates up, whilst unemployment remains a rising indicator," reasoned North two hours before his prediction was proved correct.
North even managed to give a few plugs on his book, which helps people understand the phases of the so-called "investment clock". Obviously, the RBA has forgotten to keep the time properly.
North, who reckons it is now between seven and eight o'clock on the timepiece, said: "This is a particularly fragile phase of the recovery where the Government and the Reserve Bank risk getting it wrong if the balance and timing of fiscal and monetary stimulus is not calibrated appropriately".
Westpac's chief executive, Gail "New Normal" Kelly, seems to have set her clock to daylight saving. The bank was quickly out of the blocks to raise its rates by 45 basis points, 20 points more than the RBA.
First published by Smh.com.au on December 02 2009
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