Why this restaurant scion ditched dining for luxury brands deal-making
Holly Lucas could have cashed in forever on her famous father’s restaurant empire name but has chosen to branch out with friend Alice Wells to start a new venture instead.
On the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix last month, a 68 metre-long luxury super yacht owned by US billionaire Craig Leipold was moored track-side and transformed into a floating brand showcase for the launch of the inaugural European venture of Australian entrepreneur, Holly Lucas.
The launch aboard the yacht known as Loon - which offers a swimming pool, beach club, dedicated gym, sauna and a massage room - comes after Lucas, the only daughter of local restaurant king Chris Lucas spent, 10 years driving the creative direction behind her father’s dynamic Lucas Restaurants empire in Australia.
Its portfolio includes iconic Melbourne venues such as Kisumé, Chin Chin, Baby Pizza and the more recent additions Society, Lillian Terrace and Grill Americano.
Now 31, Holly Lucas is branching into luxury marketing and taking on Europe with her new business known as “Bureau of Innovation” (BOI) that will specialise in digital content, brand partnerships and curated event experiences.
BOI is also a partnership with her lifelong friend, Alice Wells, of Melbourne-based boutique investment banking house Lempriere Wells.
Lucas says she has always had an “amazing working relationship” with her father and calls him one of the most inspiring entrepreneurs and leaders that she has ever met.
But she’s never felt she’s been given an easy ride being his daughter.
“You can look at it two ways, right? You can look at it in a way ‘Oh, well, I’ve been given all this and lucky me’. But no, it’s not lucky me. Everything comes from hard work. I’ve really made sure that I’ve learned from him as much as I can and put it into my own way. For me restaurants were amazing. I loved the experience. I loved working in the venues, then I loved creating and the marketing side of things. But at the end of the day, that’s his dream,” she says.
“I have now chosen to do my own thing outside of the business. Because I just wanted to create my own path. I wasn’t able to create my own space within his restaurant business. Now it’s the next chapter for me.”
Nor does she view carrying the Lucas name as a potential burden, following in the giant footsteps of her father.
“I’m not really into burdens. I see things as opportunities. What can I create with what I’ve been given? What I’ve inherited is an amazing work ethic, an amazing family and amazing skills. I’ve just taken that and made it my own, I think,” she says.
She says her father always taught her that there is no major formula for success in life.
You just have to go for it.
“I think that’s something that’s really stuck with me over the years. You just have to back yourself, you have to have that internal drive. Because if it was easy, everyone would do it. You have to risk it. Dad is one of the most amazing people, he’s so determined and he always makes it happen,” she says.
Of Chris Lucas’ three children, the only one to have worked in the food business is Holly. His eldest son Conrad is a banker as is his youngest Ryley. Both sons are now in their twenties.
They are all close - Chris Lucas last year celebrated his second marriage, to Sarah Lew, the ex-daughter-in-law of billionaire retail magnate Solomon Lew - and Holly reveals she would like to start a family of her own one day.
“That’s definitely on my to do list. But I hate the words settle down, I think it should be settle up. You should constantly be looking at ways to make your life more satisfying, both in a work and personal sense,” she says.
“I’m definitely a family person. I learned that from my dad. I think we’ve got a very strong family and I look forward to building the same one day. I look forward to finding whoever that person is that adds to my life and creating something amazing with someone amazing.”
From friendship to business partnership
The partnership between Holly Lucas and Alice Wells at BOI will see it offer brand value enhancement, creative strategies and execution including events, activations and digital marketing campaigns, while Lempriere Wells’ will offer M&A and capital advisory services.
In Monaco, BOI collaborated with Australian businesswomen Ashleigh Hillier of Brisbane-based luxury events and experiences operator, Agenxy and Alana Pallister who is founder of the global fashion brand, I.AM.GIA to put on three major curated luxury event experiences for guests.
They featured some of the world’s best-known fashion brands including Etro, David Korma, LaQuan Smith, Retrofete, Pritch London and luxury diamonds by Amandine Mallen jewelry, as well as Australian brands Mermade Hair and Harkness Jewellery.
Also making an appearance were Alice Wells’ global brand clients such as Casablanca founder Charaf Tajer as well as supermodel, actress and author Emily Ratajkowski, who is set to appear in a new I.AM.GIA marketing campaign that was shot on board “Loon”.
“The number of influencers we had on board accounted for more than 220 million followers, just proving a point that creating a floating showcase and branded activation for brands to put their stuff right at the centre of the world at such a globally significant sporting event is just the most amazing exposure,” Lucas says.
“There were only 400 guests that actually attended the event. But the internet has millions and millions of eyes on it. So that is where the marketing value really comes into it because now everyone wants to know what’s next.”
Lucas and Wells were five years apart in age when they first meet at Melbourne Girls Grammar school. But their friendship blossomed in their post school years.
For the past decade Wells has carved her own path in the still largely male-dominated world of investment banking as Lempriere Wells has focussed on Australian skincare, fashion and wellness firms, specialising in raising offshore capital for high growth brands.
18 months ago she bought out her business partners Stirling McGregor and Will Lempriere - her long-time mentor and a descendant of Thomas Lempriere, founder of Australia’s second bank, The Bank of Van Diemen’s Land in Hobart.
In March 2022 she made global headlines advising on global beauty giant L’Occitane Group’s purchase of a majority stake in the Australian skincare brand Grown Alchemist for more than $50m.
Wells had been working with Grown Alchemist for the previous five years, helping the brand to expand internationally.
She has also done deals for globally renowned make-up artist Rae Morris and Melbourne-born beauty brand Frank Body.
BOI is her first business venture with her best friend.
Wells says marketing and investment banking are both about “creating a want that feels like a need.”
“Working together with Holly makes a lot of sense given we are both in the luxury consumer space. What better way to showcase a brand that’s seeking investment than through an activation event, rather than via a PowerPoint or zoom call? That’s much sexier - and it’s why people want to be a part of the luxury consumer space,” she says.
“Because Holly and I know each other so well, we can naturally work together to bring brand experiences to life, making people remember the brand interaction and associating it with something enjoyable and fun. A brand is a feeling, it’s about creating desire, and Holly and I are bringing that into the capital raise process.”
Lucas also sees significant synergies between investment banking and marketing investment.
“At the end of the day, we are both in sales and branding. It’s all about creating a want and a desire, and a need. So you know, for me, branding and marketing come so naturally. It is about making product a sexy, making people want to be a part of a brand story,” she says.
“Alice comes at a very opposite end but also its the same sort of essence, if that makes sense. We both work in the luxury consumer space because it’s exciting and it feels good. Her investors want to invest in brands that they feel something for. So there are quite a lot of synergies, being able to offer our clients a holistic approach to growing a business.”
They already have a deal in the pipeline which is expected to be announced before the end of the year.
The value of space cash
Lucas says given her background in the creative field, Wells has also given her the financial understanding of how brands operate and how they think.
She now recognises that the content she curates in events is not just for the consumer, but also for the investor.
But she has also taught Wells about the value of good marketing.
“For years I was making amazing campaign videos for my brands, and I know Alice looked at those brand videos and thought, ‘Wow. Why am I sending boring PDFs when Holly can make an amazing video and give the viewer a quick one minute snapshot into a brand, instead of having to read endlessly through documents?’ Of course the financials have to come in the documents somewhere. But to get someone hooked on a brand, you want to build really strong engagement, and video with great content is the way to do that.”
Lucas believes she has also taught Wells that investing in brand actually lifts its intangible value. She calls it space cash.
“Brand activation events that produce great video content and global social media exposure elevate the brand profile and therefore it can be sold for more, a higher value than just what you see in the spreadsheet,” the former says.
Going forward BOI will offer European, Australian and global brand managers and their clients a range of high-end experiences and services which Lucas believes will add new value to their marketing activities and be an attractive point of difference for BOI’s clients.
It will focusing exclusively in the fields of culture, fashion, art and luxury.
Following the Monaco event BOI will offer a similar experience at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix later this year, again in partnership with Ashleigh Hillier and Agenxy, and at the Monaco race next year.
It will also be involved in Paris fashion week and the new years yacht event at St Barths in the Caribbean, while Princess Charlene of Monaco is also directly supporting BOI’s Superyacht Charity Gala, alongside the Pink Ribbon Monaco event in support of breast cancer sufferers.
In Australia, it will be involved with the Melbourne Art Fair, where Lucas and Wells are program ambassadors.
“I believe we are establishing a whole new benchmark in curated luxury multi-branded experience,” the former says.
“This is something I’d like to continue to do - expanding internationally and bringing Australian brands into the international market, but also bringing international brands back into Australia and giving them that sort of global experience.”
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