Make sure the roof is secure

Michael Evans sees nothing but storm clouds on the horizon.

June 17, 2008

IN THESE times of market turmoil, it's heartening to see even members of the Babcock & Brown family hunkering down in bricks and mortar.

Robert Wright, director of Babcock & Brown Residential Land Partners Group as well as Super Cheap Auto, and the chairman of storage mob Dexion, is planning a little weekend work on his Mosman pile. A cool million bucks' worth, in fact.

Since October, Wright and his better half, Carol, have been chatting with council over plans to knock out the back half of the three-bedroom shack, with tidy harbour views, that they bought in late 2006 for $3.6 million.

They are planning a three-storey addition as well as a double garage and a pool. Out with the old kitchen and family room and in with "a two-storey addition on three levels". (That's architect-speak for getting around two-level limits and putting in a wine cellar.)

There's a new open-plan kitchen downstairs and upstairs there's new bedrooms. The garage will be expanded to fit his-and-hers, no doubt fitted out with Super Cheap products.

The Wrights' architect wasn't keen for any privacy screens in the fitout: "The views of the harbour and Clifton Gardens beach to the north-east are an important and major feature of the site. The imposition of screens … would have a major impact on those views. Screens would diminish the potential of the house."

While alterations have been approved, the Wrights applied just last week for a few changes.

Meanwhile, back in the financial markets, Babcock & Brown yesterday appointed advisers to examine options for all of its listed funds - including Wright's Babcock Residential Land Partners.

Perhaps they didn't need to. Wright was executive director of The Adelaide Steamship Company during the restructure of that group from 1991 to 1995.

Expect Wright's Babcock shop to go behind privacy screens some time soon.

Blokes for the job

There's more than a little mirth at whispers that Macquarie is one of the advisers Babcock has appointed to review its listed funds. Er, hasn't Babcock heard of Alinta? And how Macquarie turned from protector as Alinta's adviser to predator?

Oh, silly us, of course they have. After all, it was Babcock & Brown Power that ended up buying the Alinta energy assets that are causing Phil Green a rather serious case of gas.

And who better to advise Babcock on taking its listed vehicles private than Macquarie? Macquarie began the very same process yesterday.

Watch your head

When corporate historians pen a few lines about Macquarie Group, yesterday's developments are certain to feature. As one of his first acts as skipper, Nicholas Moore has taken down the spinnaker from the Macquarie Group 12-metre. The chap who more than any other at Macquarie flourished in perfect downwind conditions has been forced to go about and to start tacking into the wind.

The days of pinning the ears back downwind on the roaring forties led by former skipper Allan Moss are over. In privatising Macquarie Capital Alliance Group, a listed cash box, Macquarie has acknowledged that the model is struggling in the current heavy weather.

Macquarie is generously giving back $3.40 of the $4 it was listed at three years ago (don't forget the 60c that's already been distributed) for a total return close to, hmm, zero.

But the millionaires factory is no charity. It says something about the implied value locked away in MCAG's assets and how Macquarie will flog them off for the value of their individual parts.

Next up, how about Macquarie Infrastructure and Macquarie Airports?

Going once…

Such a shame MCAG's Michael Cook couldn't make his grab bag of assets in aged care, directories, media services and vehicle tyre inflation work in the public sphere. No doubt he'll have more luck behind closed doors. His previous role as head of Macquarie corporate finance should come in handy handling a quiet private auction or four.

Comeback win

James Packer appears to be enjoying his summer sojourn before the birth of his first child, expected late this month, with a game of polo or three. Packer's Ellerston beat a team called Sumaya 10 goals to nine in the Vivari Queen's Cup final at Guards Polo Club, in Egham, Surrey, on Sunday. We hear Ellerston came back from a four-goal deficit to trail by a goal at half-time. Ellerston went in front by one goal midway through the fourth chukka and was never headed.

Mint source

Spotted lunching at the Bellevue Hotel, Paddington, yesterday were Wizard wizard Mark Bouris and two other chaps, one of whom our spy assures us bore a striking resemblance to the cashed-up lamb slaughterer John Kinghorn.

We're not sure what they were eating. It may or may not have been lamb cutlet.

Perhaps they were chatting about a stroll down the Yellow Brick Road together. After all, with the upheaval in financial markets it's not all beer and skittles in the retail investment sector, where Bouris's Yellow Brick Road is trying to gain traction.

And Foghorn Leghorn still has a few beans in his pocket from his RAMS exploits despite doing a few million up against the wall amid some deep value investing in his old shop, Allco.