Warren Anderson (businessman)
Encyclopedia
Warren Perry Anderson is an Australia
n businessman and speculative investor whose net worth in 1990 was estimated by the BRW magazine
at $190 million, though the following year he was reported to have debts of $500 million. He has been a principal in major developments in Perth
, Darwin
and Melbourne
. He has owned prestigious properties such as "Boomerang", a mansion in Sydney
's eastern suburbs, and "Tipperary", a premier cattle and crop station in the Northern Territory
. He has claimed to have been unfairly stripped of A$
50 million in the course of the WA Inc
bailout of Rothwells Bank, and was involved in the collapse of Firepower International
.
and K mart
supermarkets around Australia, the new Parliament House complex in Darwin, and at least six major office blocks in the Melbourne CBD, including redevelopment of the Windsor Hotel
site opposite Parliament House. He has conducted dealings and partnerships with billionaire businessman Kerry Packer
, John Roberts
of the construction giant Multiplex, which built most of his developments, and WA Inc
entrepreneur Alan Bond
. His political networking led to close associations with prominent ALP
players Brian Burke
, Paul Keating
, Graham Richardson
and many others.
and the vast Tipperary Station group (1 million hectares) on which he assembled a collection of 2000 exotic Asian and African animals before selling the property in 2003. In association with media magnate Kerry Packer
's Consolidated Press Holdings, he was negotiating a $270-million investment in a prime Perth CBD
redevelopment prospect called Westralia Square, adjacent to the old Perth Technical School. He was persuaded to contribute $50 million to a bailout of Rothwells Bank by then-premier Peter Dowding
. Anderson had agreed to the condition to hand over the $50 million in return for a tender agreement for the Westralia Square site which was being put up for sale by the WA government. Mr Packer declined to provide any of the $50 million attached to the deal. Anderson maintains that Dowding gave him a verbal assurance the state would guarantee return of his $50 million, but declined to put the agreement into writing. Anderson has been unsuccessful in a legal action to recover the funds and pursued an appeal in the High Court
. In May 2010 the High Court rejected the appeal.
, owing to a group of heritage buildings which were preserved from demolition by public protest with agreement of the Perth City Council. Plans for a $2 billion development by Indonesia's Samma Group fell through. Unable to recoup his Rothwells funds, Anderson left the project. After 15 years, Packer was obliged to sell his Westralia Square investment for a mere $19 million, taking a loss of more than $200 million.
organisation, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) filed a Federal Court action against companies associated with Anderson and other directors and financial advisers alleged to have profited from sale of shares without the purchasers receiving a prospectus or appropriate information about the risk involved. (Anderson was not himself named as a defendant.) Anderson's company Owston Nominees was alleged to have been issued 40 million one-cent shares in Firepower's Virgin-Islands-based parent company Firepower BVI in June 2005, which were onsold for up to 50c a share.
In January 2010, Firepower's principal, Tim Johnston, said in court that he had been personally threatened with death by Mr Anderson, who was alleged to have previously employed enforcers from bikie group
s, and Sydney personality Tom Domican.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n businessman and speculative investor whose net worth in 1990 was estimated by the BRW magazine
Business Review Weekly
BRW is an Australian weekly business magazine published by the Fairfax Media group. It regularly compiles lists which rank corporations and individuals according to various criteria, similar to Fortune magazine in the United States.BRW provides news and commentary on the economy, business and...
at $190 million, though the following year he was reported to have debts of $500 million. He has been a principal in major developments in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He has owned prestigious properties such as "Boomerang", a mansion in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's eastern suburbs, and "Tipperary", a premier cattle and crop station in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. He has claimed to have been unfairly stripped of A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
50 million in the course of the WA Inc
WA Inc
WA Inc was a political scandal in Western Australia. In the 1980s, the state government, which was led for much of the period by premier Brian Burke, engaged in business dealings with several prominent businessmen, including Alan Bond, Laurie Connell and Warren Anderson...
bailout of Rothwells Bank, and was involved in the collapse of Firepower International
Firepower International
Firepower International was advertised as a Hong Kong-based company owned and operated by Global Fuel Technologies Ltd, specializing in technology purporting to reduce the fuel consumption and environmental impact of petrol-operated vehicles. There were other offices in Sydney, China, Rhodes,...
.
Family
In April 2010, he was found guilty of assaulting his estranged wife and one of her friends. At issue was a computer said to contain documents relating to Firepower. After 42 years of marriage, the couple organised an auction sale of their 30-year collection of fine art and antiquities in 1400 lots, described as "almost certainly the largest sale of fine art and antiquities in Australia", which realised A$13.1million.Career and associations
Anderson has been associated with some of Australia's largest developments - the $1 billion-plus Westralia Square skyscraper in Perth, 50 ColesColes Group
Coles Group Limited was an Australian public company that operated numerous retail chains. It was Australia's second-largest retailer, behind Woolworths Limited...
and K mart
Kmart Australia
Kmart Australia Limited is a discount department store chain owned by Wesfarmers. It operates 172 stores in Australia and 15 in New Zealand, with its head office located in Mulgrave, Victoria. Wesfarmers uses the Kmart name under licence from Sears Holdings Corporation.-History:Kmart Australia...
supermarkets around Australia, the new Parliament House complex in Darwin, and at least six major office blocks in the Melbourne CBD, including redevelopment of the Windsor Hotel
Hotel Windsor (Melbourne)
The Hotel Windsor is a 5 Star luxury hotel in Melbourne. The Windsor is Australia’s only surviving grand 19th century city hotel and only official "grand" Victorian era hotel....
site opposite Parliament House. He has conducted dealings and partnerships with billionaire businessman Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
, John Roberts
John Roberts (businessman)
John Charles Roberts AO was an Australian businessman who was the founding chairman and an executive director of construction company Multiplex.-Early life and career:...
of the construction giant Multiplex, which built most of his developments, and WA Inc
WA Inc
WA Inc was a political scandal in Western Australia. In the 1980s, the state government, which was led for much of the period by premier Brian Burke, engaged in business dealings with several prominent businessmen, including Alan Bond, Laurie Connell and Warren Anderson...
entrepreneur Alan Bond
Alan Bond (businessman)
Alan Bond is an Australian businessman noted for his criminal convictions and high-profile business dealings, including what was at the time the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history. Bond was born in the Hammersmith district of London, England, and emigrated to Australia with his...
. His political networking led to close associations with prominent ALP
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
players Brian Burke
Brian Burke
Brian Thomas Burke was Labor premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988...
, Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
, Graham Richardson
Graham Richardson
Graham Frederick Richardson , a former Australian politician, was a Senator for New South Wales from 1983–94 for the Australian Labor Party, a senior minister in Hawke and Keating governments, and is now a political lobbyist, public speaker, and media commentator. During his time in politics,...
and many others.
Rothwells 'loan', 1988
Anderson had extensive property interests in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including a mansion in Peppermint Grove, PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and the vast Tipperary Station group (1 million hectares) on which he assembled a collection of 2000 exotic Asian and African animals before selling the property in 2003. In association with media magnate Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
's Consolidated Press Holdings, he was negotiating a $270-million investment in a prime Perth CBD
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
redevelopment prospect called Westralia Square, adjacent to the old Perth Technical School. He was persuaded to contribute $50 million to a bailout of Rothwells Bank by then-premier Peter Dowding
Peter Dowding
Peter McCallum Dowding SC was the 24th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 25 February 1988 until his resignation on 12 February 1990 after an internal party dispute....
. Anderson had agreed to the condition to hand over the $50 million in return for a tender agreement for the Westralia Square site which was being put up for sale by the WA government. Mr Packer declined to provide any of the $50 million attached to the deal. Anderson maintains that Dowding gave him a verbal assurance the state would guarantee return of his $50 million, but declined to put the agreement into writing. Anderson has been unsuccessful in a legal action to recover the funds and pursued an appeal in the High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
. In May 2010 the High Court rejected the appeal.
Westralia Square
As stated above, Anderson and Kerry Packer invested $270 million and had grand plans to build on what they called Westralia Square, which is centrally located in the Perth CBD but has limited frontage to the prime roadway, St Georges TerraceSt Georges Terrace, Perth
St Georges Terrace is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial road through the central business district....
, owing to a group of heritage buildings which were preserved from demolition by public protest with agreement of the Perth City Council. Plans for a $2 billion development by Indonesia's Samma Group fell through. Unable to recoup his Rothwells funds, Anderson left the project. After 15 years, Packer was obliged to sell his Westralia Square investment for a mere $19 million, taking a loss of more than $200 million.
Firepower fuel pill shares
During its 2008 investigation of the Australian operations of the fraudulent FirepowerFirepower International
Firepower International was advertised as a Hong Kong-based company owned and operated by Global Fuel Technologies Ltd, specializing in technology purporting to reduce the fuel consumption and environmental impact of petrol-operated vehicles. There were other offices in Sydney, China, Rhodes,...
organisation, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) filed a Federal Court action against companies associated with Anderson and other directors and financial advisers alleged to have profited from sale of shares without the purchasers receiving a prospectus or appropriate information about the risk involved. (Anderson was not himself named as a defendant.) Anderson's company Owston Nominees was alleged to have been issued 40 million one-cent shares in Firepower's Virgin-Islands-based parent company Firepower BVI in June 2005, which were onsold for up to 50c a share.
In January 2010, Firepower's principal, Tim Johnston, said in court that he had been personally threatened with death by Mr Anderson, who was alleged to have previously employed enforcers from bikie group
Outlaw motorcycle club
An outlaw motorcycle club is a type of motorcycle club that is part of a subculture with roots in the post-World War II USA, centered on cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals celebrating freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the...
s, and Sydney personality Tom Domican.