Property veteran’s drive to diversify keeps things fresh

After more than 40 years in the property game, John Potter still reckons there’s never a dull moment.

Veteran developer John Potter. Picture: Regi Varghese

After more than 40 years in the property game, John Potter still reckons there’s never a dull moment.

In the last 20 years, as The Potter Group negotiated the peaks and troughs of the property market, he has been behind billions of dollars of developments across all the asset classes.

“I enjoy doing it immensely,” Mr Potter, 72, said.

“It’s always interesting; the thing about the real estate market is that it’s constantly changing; it’s stimulating.

“Markets change, new markets grow and old markets fade away; it’s never the same two days in a row.”

Brisbane born and bred, Mr Potter attended Brisbane Grammar and, after graduation, spent two years at the Queensland Agricultural College.

But a career on the land wasn’t calling him.

“I wanted to be in business and I found the property business the most exciting,” he said.

Property developer John Potter. Picture: Tracey McBean

Before starting his family-owned company on the Gold Coast, Mr Potter spent more than 12 years as the founder and chief executive of publicly listed development company Citie Centre, which merged with Villa World in 2000.

He was the chief executive of Villa World until 2003, when he quit the position just after delivering a record result, and told journalists   he wanted to spend more time with his family and continue to race cars “at very high speeds”.

While staying on the Villa World board as a major shareholder and non-executive director, the then 51-year-old thought he was “too young to retire” and a few months later started his own eponymous business – one which he had full ownership and control of, and would not have to report to shareholders.

“I just wanted to do my own thing.” Mr Potter said.

Mermaid Beach-based The Potter Group, which has 12 specialist staff, including his two daughters, has since been involved in about 100 developments, mostly in southeast Queensland, and residential subdivisions in Victoria during the past 20 years.

Some of The Potter Group’s more recent projects on the Gold Coast include the purchase of the 3704sq m Iceland skate venue, which will make way for strata-titled showrooms, and the transformation of the former ­Billabong headquarters site in Burleigh Heads to a mixed-use development with KFC and Starbucks stores.

In the last few years, The Potter Group has been behind multiple industrial warehousing and workspace developments across the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Byron Bay.

“The industrial market is particularly strong,” Mr Potter said.

“There is a lot of demand out there for industrial product and supply is short, so it’s a very healthy market at the moment.

“For industrial builds, the rate per metre is probably the lowest in the development game. The reason I am industrial is that it’s a quick turnaround time. You can buy at site today, get an approval in four months, get on the site, and you can build a warehouse or workspaces in six to eight months and get paid in just over a year, so it’s a quick turnaround.”

An artist's impression of the Potter Group's $25m Commera Collective shopping centre development.

The company has a pipeline of commercial, retail, residential and industrial projects, with a future end value of about $1.3bn.

Mr Potter recently launched his latest retail development project, the $25m Coomera Collective on a 6500sq m site in the heart of one of southeast Queensland’s fastest-growing commercial areas.

In partnership with fellow property veteran Phillip George, he is also developing a range of residential subdivisions comprising more than 2000 blocks in Melbourne’s northwest.

Construction recently started on Potter George Group’s newest residential community, Oaklands, 28km from the Melbourne CBD. It will comprise 450 lots and 0.5ha of parkland opposite future wetlands and sports reserves, and within walking distance of proposed primary and secondary schools, with an end value of about $175m.

Mr Potter said diversification was a key part of his company.

“I do whatever the market dictates; I move between markets – residential, commercial, industrial and land subdivision,” he said.

“We’ve dabbled in retail as well, and Coomera was a great opportunity. It’s a massive growth area. More and more houses are being built there all the time and there will be another 4000 homes to be built there over the next five years.”

As well as developing, The Potter Group also builds and keeps some of its projects, employing more than 100 contractors at any one time. The Group also has an accommodation arm and owns two motels – one in Toowoomba, and one in Mackay – which it has held for 10 years.

Mr Potter acknowledged the building sector had gone through a tough period.

“Construction is difficult and expensive,” he said.

“It’s very difficult to get a builder to build to price. Having said that, cost increases have started levelling out, so it’s much more consistent than it was even a year ago and now we’re cruising along pretty much at the same building costs.

“It’s a matter of moving with the market and pulling back when the market pulls back.”