Wedding bells again for Ahmed Fahour

Latitude CEO Ahmed Fahour with Hannah Holmes in the Birdcage during the Melbourne Cup at Flemington racecourse. Picture: Aaron Francis

After a period of some professional and personal tumult, one of Australia’s more notable corporate chieftains, Ahmed ­Fahour, is set to remarry, having recently proposed to his partner Hannah Holmes.

The Latitude Financial boss confirmed to Margin Call (via an intermediary) what will be his second marriage, but declined to elaborate further on the private news.

Ahmed Fahour with his Hannah Holmes at KPMG Couta Boat races at Sorento. Picture: David Geraghty

Not long after the demise of his first marriage to creative yogi Dionne, with whom he shares four children, Fahour and Holmes were first snapped as a couple at the 2018 Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington. They were out and about at the carnival again last year.

All the while the Fahours were going about the unenviable process of carving up their considerable assets amid the ending of their marriage.

A prestige holiday home at Sorrento, which the couple had bought for $4.35m in 2009, was sold. A historic home on Kinkora Road in Hawthorn purchased for $16.2m in March 2018, was transferred into the businessman’s name only.

Another historic, landmark estate Invergowrie, also in Hawthorn and said to worth more than $45m, remains in the name of an Arnold Bloch Leibler-administered nominee company.

Fahour, meanwhile, has just put a Glenferrie Road penthouse apartment up for sale with a $5m-plus price tag.

After all that, and last year’s failed Latitude float, which would have seen Fahour finally at the helm of a listed financial services group, wedding planning must be a welcome pursuit.

We wish them all the best.

Hartzers downsize

Recently departed Westpac boss Brian Hartzer and wife Georgiana are selling their Vaucluse abode as they seek to downsize. The listing comes two months after his abrupt departure from the top job, following the Austrac anti-money-laundering investigation into the bank’s money transfer services that allegedly facilitated customers buying child pornography.

The New York-born banker had bought the home in 2014 following a stint in London with Royal Bank of Scotland.

It cost them $12.75m just before he replaced the retiring Gail Kelly.

The Michael Dysart-­designed trophy home was bought from ISS Australia chief Dane Hudson. The 1230sq m private estate, which features 765sq m of internal living space across its three levels, has been listed by Brad Pillinger, of Pillinger Real Estate.

There are five ensuited bedrooms across the separate parents, children and guest wings, although it is now overly spacious with several of their blended family staying near or on campuses.

There is also a $6.8m Pittwater weekender, a charming heritage sandstone home.

The couple are expected to find a city bolt hole — possibly in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Hartzer, who celebrated his 53rd birthday last weekend, has been quiet since leaving the bank in December, leaving Margin Call still wondering about the intent of his most recent company directorship at the quaintly named Frothy Capital Pty Ltd.

He left the bank with 130,000 shares worth $3m plus.

Abercrombie’s smiles

Few local stocks were immune from Tuesday’s coronavirus-driven bloodletting.

Former Victorian Liberal Party treasurer Andrew Abercrombie’s FlexiGroup fell slightly as it unveiled interim results, but there was plenty in the fine print to keep the Toorak richie smiling.

FlexiGroup chairman Abercrombie controls 90.8 million shares in, or 23 per cent of, the retail financing group that at Tuesday’s close were worth more than $165m.

Directors that Abercrombie leads declared an interim dividend of 3.85c a share, sending him home with $3.5m in play money from the half.

Abercrombie, who was running the party coffers at the time of the $1.5m fraud by then-party state director Damien Mantach, also gets $273,000 a year to sit top of the directors’ table, as well as $187,000 a year in rent from the listed group for a building he owns in a sweet party deal.

Investment banker, fund manager and sometime sports administrator John Wylie is also now on the FlexiGroup board, with his Tanarra Capital on the register with 20.4 million shares worth a bit more than $37m. The stake cost Wylie $25m about a year ago.

On top of the $12m-plus unrealised capital gain there’s also the almost $1m dividend payment that flows into the Tanarra coffers.

If only the cash flow around Sport Australia was so plentiful.

Three-headed role

This is a bit like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

The rapidly diminishing ranks in Christine Holgate’s inner sanctum means those still on her executive team are having to pull even more weight.

Just ask 18-year AusPost veteran Nick Macdonald.

On Monday there was the shock resignation — effective immediately — of former Victorian Labor minister Phil Dalidakis as Holgate’s head of corporate services after just seven months.

Before Big Phil was appointed last June, the job was being temporarily filled by Holgate’s head lawyer Macdonald. When Dalidakis joined, Macdonald got to hand the extra duties back.

But then in December, when AusPost company secretary Erin Kelly was made redundant (not long after she had returned from maternity leave), Macdonald was asked to take up that role, too.

And now, in addition to being Holgate’s general counsel and corporate secretary, Macdonald has been handed back Dalidakis’s general manager of corporate services duties, too.

Might be time three-headed juggling hydra Macdonald asked for a pay rise.

As for Dalidakis, who was celebrating his birthday on Tuesday, it was back to Post headquarters in the morning to say farewell, before heading off to look for a new job in the private sector — as far away from government, apparently, as he can get.

Meanwhile, when Post chief operating officer Bob Black heads off for six months in the middle of the year, his role will be taken over by a senior member of his existing team.

At least the toe cutters will be pleased.

Illustration: Rod Clement

Many happy returns

Billionaire James Packer’s righthand man Ben Tilley isn’t likely to have tuned into the livestream broadcast as day two of the rather dreary Crown casino inquiry resumed on Tuesday, drilling deep into dead chip discounting.

It was his 54th birthday after all. No celebratory postings were spotted on social media.

He could be on IJE, the Los Angeles-based casino billionaire’s $200m giga-yacht, which is currently off Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. Or maybe down at the polo estate in Argentina or even checking on the progress of the Mexico compound construction.

Tilley took over from his father Barry as Packer’s good-luck charm accompanying the media mogul to gambling dens in Australia and overseas.

Other than the occasional trips back, he’s been gone from Sydney for several years now, although likely ranks among the buyers who’ve collectively spent $650m to buy an off-the-plan apartment in Barangaroo.