Developer Jim Raptis to step down as chair of Raptis Group as ASX-listed company changes name to Group One Capital
A former Olympian is set to take the reins of a 40-year-old, ASX-listed, twice-collapsed development company which is changing its name after its irrepressible founder quit.
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Persistent Gold Coast developer Jim Raptis is to step down as chairman of his ASX-listed Raptis Group after almost 40 years, with the chequered company to change its name to Group One Capital.
Former Olympic handballer, now Sydney-based developer, Russell Garnett is to chair the company, which has collapsed spectacularly into liquidation twice since it was first listed in 1986.
The revelation Mr Raptis would step down as chair, from September 30, came after it had been issued a “speeding ticket” by the ASX, querying a sudden and unexplained jump in its share price from 8.5c on July 10 to 24c on July 17.
Raptis Group has twice been delisted, in 1991 owing investors $65 million and again in 2008 owing creditors $1 billion.
Since the billion-dollar collapse, Mr Raptis’s private companies – also called Raptis – have continued to build large-scale apartment buildings on the Gold Coast, most recently completing Pearl at Main Beach.
In recent years, the listed Raptis Group has operated as a management rights company for private Raptis developments, paying the family for the privilege and turning modest six-figure profits.
Mr Garnett, 48, who played handball in the 12-team tournament at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, has been contacted for comment.
Mr Garnett, who has been Raptis Group’s CEO since July 1, is head of Sydney-based Urban Revolutions.
He’s now running a listed company – minus the hassle of actually listing a company – and will receive a $200,000 salary, along with bonuses when and if the group’s share price hits 50c, $1, and $1.50.
Raptis Group’s shareholders include creditors who accepted shares in lieu of cash when the company crashed into administration with up to $1bn in debts in 2008.
The RPG share price, which has hovered between 1c and 4c for the past five years, was trading at 23c on Wednesday morning.
As well as its listing, the group also has – according to its half-year financial report – a hefty $38.6m in unrecognised tax losses, although it concedes it is “not able to accurately determine” if the figure is correct.
The losses, which could theoretically be used to offset tax on any profits, is locked up in a maze of defunct companies and complex security registrations.
Mr Raptis said he did not feel emotional stepping down as head of the listed company he founded.
“Not at all, the company’s taken a new path and I’m fully supportive of that,” he said on Wednesday.
“It’s a positive move and a new future for the company and a new direction.”
The veteran developer and his family will retain a substantial shareholding in newly-named Group One Capital.
Mr Raptis and his companies have a remarkable history of survival in the face of financial maelstroms – in 2014 Raptis Group whittled down a $30m ATO bill to just $6 – which is not a typo.
In 2014 and 2015, two Jim Raptis companies used to develop the Sapphire building at Labrador went into liquidation with combined debts of $11.03m and defeated a bid by the QBCC to strip him of a builder licence.
In October last year, the ATO quietly dropped a $110m case against Mr Raptis, after striking a confidential settlement with him.
The Federal Court froze assets linked to Mr Raptis, wife Helen and son Evan, including their $20m Gold Coast mansion, during the case, which the ATO said had revealed apparent “tax avoidance arrangements” by the group.
Private Raptis companies are currently building and developing The Sterling at Broadbeach
and have lodged plans with Gold Coast City Council for the last stage of Waterpoint
Residences at Biggera Waters.
“I have every confidence in Russell and the agenda he will set: the timing is right for me to
make way for a new direction,” Mr Raptis said.
“In stepping down, I’m looking forward to directing all my efforts, alongside Evan, into the private Raptis company’s development and construction commitments on the Gold Coast.
“Demand for high-end lifestyle options across the city remains strong.
“Our existing projects have been received well by the market and our pipeline of projects will likewise celebrate the unique lifestyle of the city, complemented by luxury design.”
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Originally published as Developer Jim Raptis to step down as chair of Raptis Group as ASX-listed company changes name to Group One Capital
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