South Australian billionaire Con Makris will relocate Makris Group headquarters to Queensland
UPDATED: South Australia’s richest man, billionaire Con Makris, is moving his head office to Queensland and selling several major metropolitan developments — but says he remains committed to Adelaide despite its “small-town mentality”.
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ADELAIDE billionaire Con Makris is moving his head office to Queensland because “the South Australian market is not exactly vibrant”.
Mr Makris, who owns the Makris Group and already has Gold Coast property holdings with the up-market Marina Mirage and Oracle shopping centres, will open a head office in Brisbane in the New Year.
He also will set up a satellite office on the Gold Coast, where son Jason has been overseeing the group’s investments.
Mr Makris told The Advertiser his company’s head office would relocate but he would remain living in Adelaide, his home for 45 years.
But he decried his beloved city’s “small-town” mentality, saying he feared for the state’s economic future.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a Labor or Liberal (state) government, if the horse is dead you can’t bring it back to life quickly,” Mr Makris said.
“I love the city, it’s a beautiful city to live but it’s a pity it’s got the mentality of a small town.”
Mr Makris said he remained committed to Adelaide and was expanding his Glenelg penthouse.
He also said he would soon unveil exciting new plans for North Adelaide’s former Le Cornu site, although he declined to give details.
A Sheraton Adelaide hotel has been announced as the centrepiece for the long-vacant site amid a luxury residential, retail and hotel development.
Mr Makris said he would retain ownership of Adelaide’s City Cross shopping centre, despite putting it on the market briefly earlier this year.
The Makris Group has put several major developments across Adelaide up for sale in the past year, including City Cross,Gilles Plains shopping centre and Newton Village shopping centre.
A landmark 14-storey office tower at 431 King William St is on the market but has not been sold.
The company also owns Hallett Cove shopping centre, North Adelaide Village, Marina Pier at Holdfast Shores and the Oxford Hotel in North Adelaide.
Mr Makris urged federal politicians to work together to revive Australia’s economy, saying their “fighting every day” was “making me sick”.
“They should get together ... on the Australian economy because I don’t think we are travelling very well,” he said.
Mr Makris warned of looming economic blows from Europe and said he was worried about Australia’s readiness to withstand an economic shock.
He lamented weekend penalty rates and “bludgers” who did not want to work, declaring people could get a job if they wanted.
“A lot of people can’t get any workers because people don’t want to work,” Mr Makris said.
Fellow Adelaide property magnate Theo Maras said he could understand Mr Makris’s concerns.
“The class of asset that he holds, he might well do better interstate. He’s a very shrewd businessman and that’s been proven over the years,” Mr Maras said.
Earlier, Mr Makris told Queensland media that Brisbane and the Gold Coast would have “astronomical” growth.
“It’s already happening and we want to be here on the ground to capitalise on that growth,” he said.
“We’ll reduce the size of our Adelaide office. You could say that the South Australian market is not exactly vibrant.”
Mr Makris said he was very happy with the performance of his Queensland investments.
“(Marina Mirage and Oracle) are the best centres on the Gold Coast and the fact that we have no empty shops reflects that,” he said.
Mr Makris moved to Australia from Greece at 16 and his first business venture was an Adelaide fish and chip shop.
He and wife Carol own a condominium at Marina Mirage’s northern neighbour, Palazzo Versace.
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