Sentinel Property Group’s Warren Ebert to go out on his own after bitter split with CEO daughter

One of Queensland’s biggest privately-owned funds management businesses will be split up after a bitter falling out between the founder and his CEO daughter.

Stacey Jones and her father Warren Ebert.

SENTINEL Property Group founder Warren Ebert has gone out on his own after a bitter split with his daughter who is the chief executive of the $1.3bn Brisbane fund management group he founded 11 years ago.

Mr Ebert said he and his daughter Stacey Jones had conflicting management styles but he “never saw it coming”.

“It was terrible. I never saw the bigger picture. I was out there doing business with financiers and property people,” he said.

“I don’t know what started it. Myself and senior management never saw it coming.

“She’s never bought a commercial property in her life.”

Sentinel Group Australia boss chief executive Stacey Jones.

Mr Ebert and Ms Jones are currently working out of Sentinel’s head office in the Brisbane CBD at 240 Creek St. Ms Jones denied her father was forced to leave.

However, Mr Ebert will move by Christmas with over 20 staff next door to 260 Creek St including chief marketing officer Michael Sherlock and chief financial officer Scott Tynan and general manager - property Tim Kent.

A former taxi driver Mr Ebert started Sentinel in the middle of the GFC and built it into a fund management and property development business with $1.3bn in assets.

The property empire is operated through an extensive network of different companies, with Ms Jones serving on several boards with her father.

Sentinel Property Group (SPG), which earns most of its revenue from trust management and consultancy fees, made a profit of $1.6m in 2020 compared to $382,000 the previous year.

Revenue increased from $3.4m to $4.1m over the same period. Ms Ebert and Ms Jones are directors of the company but its sole shareholder is Ebert Investments, a company which lists Mr Ebert as its only shareholder.

According to the latest annual financial report lodged with ASIC, Ebert Investments is the ultimate controller of Sentinel Property Group as the trustee for Ebert Investments Trust.

The group established a new unlisted public company called Sentinel Group Australia (SGA) last September.

Sentinel Property Group boss Warren Ebert.

In the split Mr Ebert keeps SPG and about $550m in properties under management while Ms Jones through the umbrella company SGA, which operates under the name Sentinel Group Australia, will keep the remainder of the $1.3bn portfolio under management and the bulk of the staff.

Ms Jones, 38, said she resigned from SPG a couple of months ago and still stayed on with SGA.

“It was out of frustration. I felt I was coming up against a brickwall with changes that had to happen given the size of the business,” she said.

“Rather than have a chat and see how to structure things differently, it escalated and we were in discussions via a third party on how it would look like.

“But cross my heart and hope to die, I was informed that he decided to leave and that he had signed a lease which was a total surprise.”

Mr Ebert said he will continue to manage SPG as he had in the past and SGA will continue under Ms Jones.

“She will continue to have staff morning teas, more cuddle sessions. I don’t see how that makes money but I’m old school. I have averaged about a 23.62 per cent internal rate of return in retail funds over 11 years,” he said.

“She is a very good solicitor but that doesn’t make you a property expert.

“I might not be the smartest person but one thing I can do is property. I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a good dancer. All I know is property and I have been very good at making money for my investors.”

Ms Jones said following the transition the Group will continue to be led by SGA’s highly experienced leadership and focus on investors and recruiting new upper management staff.

“The reality is that the business does not hang on the back of one person no matter how much the media might report it otherwise,” she said.

“I might not be the property whisperer (Mr Ebert) that he is but there are many parts of the business that he’s not across. I am not going to criticise him but there are many skills I have that he does not have.”