A financial report into Westlab lodged by Hales last year shows company revenue soared an extraordinary 926 per cent in the 2022 financial year,up from $52 million in 2021 to $534 million.
Gavin Grace is the Ballarat-based director of medical supply company Westlab.Credit:Westlab
Hales’s appointment as auditor prompted probity questions as to the independence of his role given he is the global head of the sect,known as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church,but Grace refuted that in a statement saying the audit was undertaken by a senior auditor from Bruce D Hales&Co,and not Hales himself.
Until recently,the Exclusive Brethren werenot known for their lavish taste in housing,but that changed in recent years as the Hales family have purchased some of the area’s most expensive homes,including a$9.5 million luxury estate in Dural bought byGareth Hales.
Members maintain a strict doctrine of isolation from the modern world,shunning social interaction with “worldly” outsiders,union membership,voting and university. Further,women are banned from wearing pants,having short hair and working in a position of authority over men.
Wigram set for market
Wigram is the Longueville estate built by Colonel Wigram and currently owned by Phil and Kerry Coffey.
It looks like there are downsizing plans in play by Macquarie Group and Lendlease board memberPhil Coffey and his wifeKerry given their Longueville estate,Wigram,is set to hit the market this week.
Phil Coffey retired from Westpac in 2017,and currently serves on the board of Macquarie Group and Lendlease.Credit:Elke Meitzel
This is the grand 1880-built residence built forColonel Wigram and previously home to senior legal counselRobert Stitt KC,long known as Blowtorch Bob,and which was previously renovated by internationally acclaimed architectGlenn Murcutt (for which he won an Australian Institute of Architects merit award).
The Coffeys paid $4.9 million for the property,complete with swimming pool,tennis court and water views towards the city,in 2002,and commissioned renovations by architectBruce Willoughby in more recent years.
Wigram was renovated more than 20 years ago by architect Glenn Murcutt and more recently by Bruce Willoughby.
Coffey,the former deputy chief of Westpac until he retired in 2017,has handed the plum listing to McGrath’s Sam Lloyd and Tracey Dixon. There’s no guide as yet,but a recent $19 million sale of a house on Kenneth Street is expected to inspire guesstimates.
Form an orderly queue
As glamorous trophy homes go,the Vaucluse waterfront house listed this week by press scionAlexander Ma won’t go down as the best in show,but the $50 million guide should set a benchmark for tired four-bedroom houses with dated interiors and a pool on 770 square metres.
The four-bedroom house at Vaucluse is set on 770 square metres of harbourfront reserveCredit:Domain
The harbourfront position should help buyers see value,as should the $23.88 million Ma paid for it five years ago when he also bought the house next door (now reduced to rubble) for $31 million. Marketing for it was launched on Thursday by Bradfield BadgerFox’s Peter Leipnik.
Ma,the son of Hong Kong press baronPeter Ching-kwan Ma,owner of Hong Kong’s media empire Oriental Press Group,had touted plans to redevelop the site into a luxury triplex,but that development application is yet to materialise on council records.
Michael Canturi previously owned and completed the landmark Dover Heights property known as the Butterfly House.Credit:Marco Del Grande
Meanwhile,in Darling Point,home construction businessmanMichael Canturi and his wifeJacqueline have paid $24.3 million for a triplex owned by travel industry veteranCol Hughes.
Canturi,who was being shown around the market by One Buyer’s Agency’s Jayden Hurvitz,purchased it through Alison Coopes,ending some 80 years of Hughes family ownership.