Chris and Bec Judd in financial hole after miner goes bust

Chris and Bec Judd could be hundreds of thousands of dollars worse off after a company they invested in hit the wall.

Footy great Chris Judd and his wife Rebecca are in a financial hole after a mining company they had heavily invested in went bust.

Chris and Bec Judd were among the largest shareholders in Perth based iron ore miner Elmore Limited which went into administration last week, reported the West Australian.

It could see the former West Coast Eagles and Carlton captain left with nothing to show for his investment.

Chris and Rebecca Judd at the 2022 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley. Picture: Supplied

Together the Judds own 1.35 per cent of Elmore with 18.8 million shares.

Shares in Elmore were suspended in September when they were trading at just 0.5 cents each.

The suspension came as the company struggled with its Peko iron and gold mine in the Northern Territory.

The Judd’s shareholding is currently worth $94,400 but they bought it for a lot more.

They appeared on Elmore’s list of top 20 largest shareholders in April 2021 when shares were 2 cents a piece which valued the then stake at $200,000. They bought more shares around a year later thought to be valued at $266,000.

Administrators from financial services company KPMG are now poring over Elmore’s books to see if there is anything that can be saved or sold.

The company had warned it needed $5 million to survive days before it went belly up. It lost $23 million in the year to June 2023. The company’s financial woes had worsened as it failed to meet investor expectations.

Chris and Bec Judd at the Australian Open. PICTURE: Fiona Hamilton

The couple could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. Picture by Wayne Taylor.

If a way can’t be found for Elmore to carry on trading or for it to be sold, it’s likely the company will be wound down. And that could see shareholders, like the Judds, lose everything.

First in line to receive payments will be creditors to Elmore. It owes more than $13 million but has only $50,000 on hand.

Since retiring from football in 2015 Chris Judd has forged a career in finance. He hosts an investment podcast, when he interviews fund managers, and he has founded his own fund manager called Cerutty Macro Fund.

Rebecca Judd models at VAMFF Runway event at Melbourne Museum.

Bec Judd and her children Oscar and Billie at Dendy Street Beach near the Brighton Baths. Picture: Tony Gough

Judds’ $7.3 million luxury pad

In 2019, the Judd clan moved into a $7.3 million home in the swanky Brighton suburb in the Bayside area of Melbourne.

Bec Judd detailed the renovations on Instagram including a mud room, enlarged garage for her Range Rover, marble staircase, butler’s pantry and tennis court.

In 2022 she complained that she felt “unsafe” in her huge home – in one of Melbourne’s wealthiest suburbs – due to crime in the city.

“So sick of the rapes, bashings and home invasions at the hands of gangs,” she said on social media.

Data from Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency revealed Bayside’s total number of criminal incidents was 12.9 per cent higher in 2022 compared with 2021.

But while crime was up in Bayside, the LGA has one of the lowest crime rates in Melbourne.

Originally published as Chris and Bec Judd in financial hole after miner goes bust