Virgin deal-makers take on Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics deal

In happier times: Paul Scurrah and Vaughan Strawbridge. Picture: John Feder

It’s looking like a case of history repeating over at Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics. The business was placed on life support earlier this week while KordaMentha was brought in to do the mopping up and run a bead on incoming bidders.

But it turns out KordaMentha was not technically the first in the room on Monday. Margin Call has learned that Deloitte has had emissaries inside the company for months on behalf of Coles to take the temperature of truckies, suppliers and employees to figure out if the supermarket’s supply chain is about to collapse.

And here we are. We can only wonder what Coles might have in store if a buyout of Scott’s isn’t sealed, but it would hardly be surprising if trucks and drivers are suddenly transplanted into the supermarket’s network.

As for history repeating, Margin Call couldn’t help noting that the same ragtag group of individuals assembling around Scott’s are those who showed up at the ruins of Virgin Australia when it nosedived into administration in April 2020.

Administrator Sal Algeri. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

At that time Bain Capital was being advised by KordaMentha’s Scott Langdon and John Mouawad, both of whom are now on the Scott’s deal.

Who else? Deloitte partners Sal Algeri and Vaughan Strawbridge were brought in as administrators for Virgin – they’re key operatives now, too, with Algeri in the Scott’s data room doing the digging for Coles while Strawbridge is rummaging around with FTI Consulting.

And who’s hired Strawbridge? Paul Scurrah and Keith Neate, formerly the CEO and CFO of Virgin at the time of its collapse. Scurrah’s in the mix because he heads rail freight logistics outfit Pacific National, which is owed some money by Scott’s. How’s that for symmetry?

Much in the way of competing allegiances, too. Remember that it was KordaMentha which was mightily peeved that Deloitte beat it to the Virgin administration appointment (and then quietly accused it of a conflict later).

That’s to say nothing of Scurrah, who lost his job at Virgin when Bain decided that Jayne Hrdlicka, his successor, would be a better fit for the restructured company. And who advised Bain? KordaMentha and Deloitte.

All of which explains why the talks have had a touch of frost about them. And yes, we know it’s a refrigeration company.

Myer musings

Here’s a blow to succession plans that long-suffering Myer shareholders would hope were in place at the listed department store group.

Out the door in recent weeks was one of CEO John King’s key retail lieutenants, Dean Austin, the man charged with overseeing a rump of Myer’s menswear, children’s wear, homewares and entertainment.

Austin, with the group for at least 15 years, said his goodbyes to take the role of CEO at homewares brand Salt and Pepper, owned by Bambis International and led by Harry Pourounidis.

It’s an exit that leaves a critical gap in King’s management chart as he approaches five years in the job, having been appointed in 2018 by former chair Garry Hounsell.

Five years is a long time, and for much of the past year it’s been difficult not to notice King’s lengthy stays in the US where his wife resides.

King remains on a rolling contract at Myer, which is set to unveil its results on March 9. If there’s even a skerrick of truth to the speculation, his contract requires that he give 12 months notice on either side.

In order to qualify for lucrative performance rights issued for the 2021 financial year, King must still be at Myer on January 31. Funny, too, that the date was brought forward and revealed to the market six weeks ago by the JoAnne Stephenson-chaired Myer board.

Is there an exit in the works here? Normally we would shrug off these mere coincidences. But then there’s King’s serviced executive apartment at Melbourne’s Freshwater Place, which is slated to be advertised as available from October 1. We imagine this means he may no longer require it. That would certainly allow him to spend the second half of his notice period offshore assisting with any transition. We’ll know soon enough if we’re right.

Murray’s mansion

Across the aisle at Team Solly Lew, the billionaire’s Premier Investments chief Richard Murray is putting the final touches on a personal project that has spanned more than two years and cost the businessman north of $15m.

In November 2020, shortly before announcing he was leaving electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi, Murray and wife Jacqueline Blackwell quietly forked out $10.375m for a historic mansion in Melbourne’s leafy Armadale.

Money to burn: Premier Investments chief Richard Murray with his billionaire boss Solly Lew. Picture: Ian Currie

To keep the buy under wraps they made the purchase via an entity of which Blackwell was sole director. Approvals and a $3.5m renovation soon followed, the property having been billed at the time of sale as one of “Armadale‘s most important, illustrious residences”.

While that ball was in the air they decided to chuck another one by selling their Toorak home for $13.75m. With the Armadale pile almost complete, the property on Mercer Road has since been transferred into Blackwell’s name.

A change of scenery, at least, for their next Liberal Party fundraiser; the old pile was where they hosted Scott Morrison and the Higgins faithful in 2018. And by Higgins we mean the electorate, of course.

Only eyes for Albo

No birthday cake for Jim Chalmers at Wednesday night’s Labor Business Forum. Suppose that’s what happens when one fiddles with superannuation and other sacred cows.

No cake, and no singsong either, it would appear. Instead the entire room bellowed out a happy birthday for Anthony Albanese, who turned 60 at the stroke of midnight. It transpires that he shares a birthday not only with Chalmers (who turned 45) but also with Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor, who turned 61.

Uncanny, right? Well, not really; in a room of 25 people there’s a 50 per cent likelihood that two people will share a birthday. Increase that to 75 people and the likelihood rises to 99.9 per cent (on this occasion there were several hundred in attendance at Sydney’s Doltone House).

But the likelihood of three cabinet ministers sharing a birthday? Call it the Albo Paradox. Joining the merriment at the prime minister’s table was AMP chief Alexis George, Westpac’s Peter King, ANZ’s Shayne Elliott and Renato Motta, CEO of Insignia Financial. As far as we’re aware only Albanese got cake.

MC Amanda Rishworth had her own light crack at Chalmers. She said one aim of the evening was to fundraise as much money as possible through the sale of raffle tickets – except from those with more than $3m in super. She said the treasurer’s taken enough from them already.