Andrew Frazer’s comeback called into question; Rich Lesser comes a cropper in Bali

Stockbroker Andrew Frazer faces a court battle.

It was only last year that stockbroker Andrew Frazer was being lauded for a triumphant return to the West Australian property market, having sunk $10.25m on a pile in the affluent Perth suburb of Peppermint Grove.

“Andrew Frazer back in the big league,” shouted the headline in The West Australian, signalling a redemption of sorts, a shedding of prior taint.

Peppermint Grove happened to be the same locale where, in 2009, Frazer’s mortgage repayments on a century-old mansion had to be picked up by his mate Andrew Forrest, owing to extreme losses suffered during the Global Financial Crisis.

Such was his desperation that the house was eventually put on the market, and in the fire sale of assets that followed, Twiggy also swooped on Frazer’s boat and a holiday house in Gracetown.

Thus, from close to penury, Frazer’s resurgence in Peppermint Grove was rightfully billed as a comeback that appeared to have been years in the making.

But Margin Call has learned his purchase of the Johnston St property is far from a simple transaction, and appears to be tangled up in NSW Supreme Court proceedings. The filings state that while Frazer was settling on the property in July 2021, he allegedly borrowed $2.75m from Sydney-based firm Lazarus Capital Partners and directed that the money be paid into a Perth-based conveyancing trust.

It’s further alleged that Frazer, a managing director in Lazarus’s Perth office, then borrowed another $600,000 in October 2021 using a prime brokerage facility with the company, which came with margin requirements and other caveats.

He’s now being sued by Lazarus’ founder, Dale Klynhout, after allegedly ignoring the repayment obligations, and then brushing off a succession of ­margin calls that were initiated after he defaulted on the firm’s prime brokerage agreement.

According to the documents filed by lawyers at Quinn Emanuel, Lazarus closed out what remained of LCF’s open transactions in companies that included cloud software platform Zimi, Resolute Mining, pharmaceuticals developer Starpharma, and minerals explorer Auris.

About $2.23m was recovered but the amount was still “insufficient to put the LCF account in a position to meet the margin requirement or margin call”, the documents state. With interest owed, a total repayment of $4.07m is being sought.

Frazer told Margin Call he was largely unable to comment on the matter, but said he would “vigorously defend” the action and branded the lawsuit a “nonsense”.

“We thoroughly dispute the statement of claim,” he said. A defence is expected to be filed later this month. Klynhout declined to comment.

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Rich feeling poorly

Noticeably absent from the Sydney Energy Forum this week was Rich Lesser, the global chair of Boston Consulting Group, who was due to present a speech at the two-day event but had to be switched out at the last minute.

Why?

Illustration: Rod Clement

Margin Call understands Lesser had been holidaying in Bali with his family when he suffered an injury on the water – either wakeboarding or water skiing, we’re told. Whatever it was, it was bad enough to leave him with injuries (nine broken ribs, apparently) that require some convalescing in the local hospital, where he remains.

A BCG spokesman confirmed that Lesser is “in good spirits, receiving the best of care in Bali and being supported by BCG’s Sydney and Jakarta offices”.

That appears to have included a massive gift from BCG’s Australian Managing Partner, Ant Roediger, who stepped in for Lesser and gave a speech at the Forum.

Surely there’s a bottle of whisky for Roediger in that.

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Divine intervention

Earlier this year Amy Brown, the chief executive of Investment NSW, gave a gushing interview to Christian publication Eternity News, providing insight into her faith and how it guides her practices in the workplace.

God, of course, featured heavily in the article. He was “very instrumental” in securing her leadership position, apparently, and so concerned is he with the narcotising minutiae of the NSW public service (forget about whatever’s going on in the Carina Nebula) that he’s actually keeping tabs on its daily operations.

“I just need to let God do the work,” she said. “I need to sit back, pray and pray and pray, pray, give it to God. And if he wants an outcome, that is what the outcome will be. And the outcome might be something terrible, that I lose my job or don’t get the opportunity, but he’ll be glorified through that.”

Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown. Picture: AAP

Incidentally, Brown has found herself at the unenviable centre of a scandal engulfing the Perrottet government over the appointment of former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro to a trade position covering the Americas.

And frankly, if that was God’s work, he’s got a dark sense of humour. But we digress.

It also just so happens that Brown’s interview with Eternity News, uncovered by The Mandarin a week ago, is no longer available to read online.

We tried the links but received only a “404” error message where the proselytising used to be. The world certainly works in mysterious ways.

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Bold move

Former political staffer David Bold has turned up at the Bank of Queensland where he’s been appointed head of media and government relations.

Bold made the jump from Shell where he was manager of federal government and policy for the last two years; his priors include a stint working for the NSW premier and as a press secretary and senior adviser to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

It would seem more than likely that Bold was lured to BOQ by none other than Sally Cray, who worked alongside him in Turnbull’s office as principal private secretary.

Cray arrived at the firm in April after being recruited by the bank’s boss, George Frazis, to lead its public affairs, communications and investor relations division.