Woolies adviser Roger Corbett rings up another win

Corbett rings up another win

New Woolies adviser Roger Corbett has plenty to be chuffed about this week.

Not only is the 73-year-old back to sort out his retail alma mater, but now Corbett-chaired drug maker Mayne Pharma has punched through $1 billion in market value. It’s been a heady ride. Three years ago when boss Scott Richards joined, Mayne was worth just $50m.

Those on the register with Corbett are also stoked — none more than billionaire pokies king Bruce Mathieson, who’s got $75m worth. Also there are Alex Waislitz and rich listers Richard Smith of PFD Foods and Reece plumbing’s Wilson family.

Investors will be treated to a trading update at tomorrow’s AGM — not that Mathieson needs convincing.

“I don’t think we have even started. You will find the next couple of years will be even more amazing,” he told us yesterday. He has no intention of selling.

Corbett, who is also a director of Walmart, and Mathieson have been mates for 15 years.

“To me it’s ridiculous it has taken this long — a man who is on the board of the biggest retailer in the world (Walmart),” Mathieson said of Corbett’s new gig at Woolies. “He’s not a bad sort of a bloke to have around.”

Pretty Girl in black

Family fashion plate Francesca Packer eschewed uncle James’s Pretty Girl fashions for her Vogue shoot for Celine and Louis Vuitton, but at least his down-market retailer is in the black.

In a win for new Cons Press boss Rob Rankin, Pretty Girl, which turns out rags under the Rockmans, W. Lane and Table Eight labels, hit the jackpot with a $7.6 million profit in the 2014-15 year, up from a $266,000 loss.

Boss Michael Johnston and long-time Packer lieutenant Guy Jelland have presided over an 18 per cent sales surge, to $217.6m, and the group also reaped a $5.3m forex windfall.

Packer loves a pretty girl — Mariah, Jodhi, Erica, Kate — and has been patient with the company, which has struggled for years. He’ll have to wait to see any return, with dividends not on the cards. It slashed its asset deficiency from $21.6m to $13.9m but still relies on a letter of support from Cons Press.

Family values

Waislitz and wife Heloise have gone their separate ways, but there are no hard feelings in the Pratt family.

She was a latecomer, but family matriarch Jeanne Pratt managed to show up yesterday at the Melbourne offices of Arnold Bloch Leibler for the AGM of Thorney Opportunities, 30 per cent owned by the Waislitzes.

In a standing room-only affair, Pratt was quickly found a chair up the back. But that meant the 79-year-old had a problem hearing the dulcet tones of her still son-in-law, which she made patently clear with a polite heckle for him to speak up.

Three of TOP’s portfolio companies also presented, including poppy grower TPI Industries. Waislitz joked he was disappointed there were no showbags for the audience.

Full disclosure

Some of Australia’s richest will no longer be able to shield their finances from public view if Senator Ricky Muir has his way.

Thanks to a 20-year-old loophole, the likes of Kerry Stokes, Russ Withers, the Pratts and other richies are exempt from filing accounts with ASIC — annoying Johnny-come-latelies like Gina Rinehart, who have to put theirs in every year.

The issue blew up yesterday because one of Malcolm Turnbull’s companies is on the grandfathering list. He’s pledged to have it removed, although it’s too small to have to file anyway.

A Muir proposal to end the exemption is on the notice paper today. It may well be sent it off to a committee or Treasury, to report back in a few months.

All this comes amid tricky talks over Joe Hockey’s swansong bill dealing with multinational tax dodging and new Treasurer Scott Morrison’s attempts to water down financial disclosure, via the ATO, by our biggest companies.

Quiet Qube

Qube chair Chris Corrigan came a long way from Switzerland to take just three questions at its AGM.

Not even his $9bn lurch for Asciano could fire up the punters. The only burr was the re-election of director Ross Burney, quizzed on why he didn’t have any Qube shares.

It was lost on the shareholder that Burney is Corrigan’s buddy Peter Scanlon’s eyes and ears on the board, with Scanlon’s Taverners Group controlling 6.2 per of Qube. “I remind Mr Burney that he does work for all shareholders,” Corrigan said.

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