Cars, real estate and Roosters
MARCH 18, 2019
He’s known as one of the most influential people in rugby league, but neither of the teams billionaire car retailer Nick Politis has an interest in had the best of weekends in the opening round of the NRL.
Politis is the chairman and long-time benefactor of defending premiers Sydney Roosters, with whom he has been involved since his City Ford business begun sponsoring the team in 1975.
The Roosters won their 14th premiership last October when they defeated Melbourne Storm in the grand final, but their title defence got off to an inauspicious start with a 26-16 loss to bitter rivals South Sydney on Saturday.
He has also established the Roosters as a corporate powerhouse in the sport, instituting an exclusive Chairman’s Club coterie group that only has 30 members and includes prominent business identities such as Wizard Home Loans founder Mark Bouris and retailer Mark McInnes, of Premier Investments.
Less well-known is Politis has a financial interest in the ASX-listed Brisbane Broncos, in which he has a small shareholding. The team is one of the few consistently profitable rugby league clubs in the country. The club pays regular dividends and is majority-owned by News Corporation.
News (owner of The Australian) has almost 69 per cent of Broncos stock, and while Politis only holds 250,000 shares via his WFM Motors private company, he is the ninth-largest shareholder of the company, according to Bloomberg. The Broncos also lost their opening round game last Thursday, 22-12 to the Melbourne Storm.
Broncos shares are down about 6 per cent since January 1, and Politis sold 50,000 shares in February, but the team’s share price has doubled in value since 2014.
By far his biggest public shareholding is the listed car retailer AP Eagers. Politis is that company’s biggest shareholder, holding 36.3 per cent of AP Eagers stock and a seat on its board. He also regularly buys small parcels of shares in the company via on-market trades.
AP Eagers is among the top 100 best performing stocks on the All Ordinaries Index since the beginning of the year, being among several companies to have bounced back after a tough end to 2018.
AP Eagers shares are up 23 per cent in the year to date, meaning the Politis stake is now worth about $520 million.
He and AP Eagers also have shareholdings in another listed car retailer in Automotive Holdings.
AP Eagers has more of its car dealerships in Queensland, while more of the Automotive Holdings dealerships are found in Western Australia. Both have expanded their geographical presence across other states in Australia in recent years, however.
Automotive Holdings shares are up about 18 per cent since January 1. AP Eagers holds 22 per cent of its shares, while Politis owns a small stake in the group himself.
While the billionaire has plenty of shares, his wealth is also underpinned by large property holdings. Politis, who often holds court and does business at his favourite cafe, Maybach in Rushcutters Bay, owns the land on which dozens of his car dealerships sit, and commercial buildings in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and elsewhere.
One is Rowlandson House on Castlereagh Street in Sydney’s CBD, where he and investor Matthew Lepouris joined forces in late 2017 to buy the building for about $59m. The six-storey complex sits opposite Westfield Sydney and the David Jones store and features a luxury jeweller retailer on its ground floor.
His other property holdings include office blocks in Parramatta, industrial blocks in Southport, Queensland, and a mansion in ­Sydney’s exclusive Bellevue Hill.
Politis, who celebrated 25 years as Sydney Roosters chairman in 2018, also has moved to ensure his beloved club is underpinned financially for decades to come with a series of property purchases for the leagues club that ultimately owns the Roosters.
Under his leadership, the Roosters have snapped up Waverley Bowling Club, Berkeley Sports, Kingswood Sports Club and Woy Woy Leagues and also plans a big redevelopment of the Easts Leagues club in Bondi Junction.
The group has about $60m worth of property on its balance sheet, though Politis has said its commercial holdings are worth $120m.
The Roosters football entity made a $715,054 net profit from $30m revenue last year, according to documents recently lodged with the corporate regulator, though it only achieved that result after a $3.28m grant from the Easts Group leagues club.
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He’s known as one of the most influential people in rugby league, but neither of the teams billionaire car retailer Nick Politis has an interest in had the best of weekends in the opening round of the NRL.
Politis is the chairman and long-time benefactor of defending premiers Sydney Roosters, with whom he has been involved since his City Ford business begun sponsoring the team in 1975.
The Roosters won their 14th premiership last October when they defeated Melbourne Storm in the grand final, but their title defence got off to an inauspicious start with a 26-16 loss to bitter rivals South Sydney on Saturday.
He has also established the Roosters as a corporate powerhouse in the sport, instituting an exclusive Chairman’s Club coterie group that only has 30 members and includes prominent business identities such as Wizard Home Loans founder Mark Bouris and retailer Mark McInnes, of Premier Investments.
Less well-known is Politis has a financial interest in the ASX-listed Brisbane Broncos, in which he has a small shareholding. The team is one of the few consistently profitable rugby league clubs in the country. The club pays regular dividends and is majority-owned by News Corporation.
News (owner of The Australian) has almost 69 per cent of Broncos stock, and while Politis only holds 250,000 shares via his WFM Motors private company, he is the ninth-largest shareholder of the company, according to Bloomberg. The Broncos also lost their opening round game last Thursday, 22-12 to the Melbourne Storm.
Broncos shares are down about 6 per cent since January 1, and Politis sold 50,000 shares in February, but the team’s share price has doubled in value since 2014.
By far his biggest public shareholding is the listed car retailer AP Eagers. Politis is that company’s biggest shareholder, holding 36.3 per cent of AP Eagers stock and a seat on its board. He also regularly buys small parcels of shares in the company via on-market trades.
AP Eagers is among the top 100 best performing stocks on the All Ordinaries Index since the beginning of the year, being among several companies to have bounced back after a tough end to 2018.
AP Eagers shares are up 23 per cent in the year to date, meaning the Politis stake is now worth about $520 million.
He and AP Eagers also have shareholdings in another listed car retailer in Automotive Holdings.
AP Eagers has more of its car dealerships in Queensland, while more of the Automotive Holdings dealerships are found in Western Australia. Both have expanded their geographical presence across other states in Australia in recent years, however.
Automotive Holdings shares are up about 18 per cent since January 1. AP Eagers holds 22 per cent of its shares, while Politis owns a small stake in the group himself.
While the billionaire has plenty of shares, his wealth is also underpinned by large property holdings. Politis, who often holds court and does business at his favourite cafe, Maybach in Rushcutters Bay, owns the land on which dozens of his car dealerships sit, and commercial buildings in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and elsewhere.
One is Rowlandson House on Castlereagh Street in Sydney’s CBD, where he and investor Matthew Lepouris joined forces in late 2017 to buy the building for about $59m. The six-storey complex sits opposite Westfield Sydney and the David Jones store and features a luxury jeweller retailer on its ground floor.
His other property holdings include office blocks in Parramatta, industrial blocks in Southport, Queensland, and a mansion in Sydney’s exclusive Bellevue Hill.
Politis, who celebrated 25 years as Sydney Roosters chairman in 2018, also has moved to ensure his beloved club is underpinned financially for decades to come with a series of property purchases for the leagues club that ultimately owns the Roosters.
Under his leadership, the Roosters have snapped up Waverley Bowling Club, Berkeley Sports, Kingswood Sports Club and Woy Woy Leagues and also plans a big redevelopment of the Easts Leagues club in Bondi Junction.
The group has about $60m worth of property on its balance sheet, though Politis has said its commercial holdings are worth $120m.
The Roosters football entity made a $715,054 net profit from $30m revenue last year, according to documents recently lodged with the corporate regulator, though it only achieved that result after a $3.28m grant from the Easts Group leagues club.
