Court rules on farm dispute between former NFF boss and ex investment banker
A legal dispute between a Former National Farmers Federation director and a business partner has been finalised by the Supreme Court.
Former National Farmers Federation director David Carr has lost his Supreme Court battle that arose after an unpleasant falling out with his absentee rural partner, expatriate former investment banker Ivan Ritossa.
A 34,000-word judgment by Justice Mark Richmond that followed an eight-day hearing declined to accede to his application to wind up their Darbalara Property Trust (DPT).
Their joint rural property investment trust acquired The Junction at Darbalara, near Gundagai, for $7.5m and then Bogolara, at Berremangra, for $5.4m after being set up in 2010.
The partners fell out in 2019 principally over the best farming strategy to deal with the drought.
Carr and wife Ros subsequently endeavoured to bring the trust to an end, while the London-based Ritossa and his wife, Marina, argued that the Carrs were free to sell their stake.
The Carrs contended it constituted oppressive conduct and sought orders under section 232 and 233 of the Corporations Act 2001 for the winding up of the arrangement or the appointment of a receiver.
But his honour declined the application.
Carr and Ritossa became friends when they met in 1987 when they were at Bankers Trust in Sydney.
In 2010 both were in Singapore with Carr as global head of sales, financial markets at Standard Chartered Bank and Ritossa at Barclays Capital as head of foreign exchange.
Concerns were raised about the $23,500 weekly cost of the drought feed of the cattle and sheep in 2019 when Ritossa emailed Carr noting the conundrum of (a) running the stock down to save on feed, but paying higher prices to restock in the future, (b) keeping the same headcount and feed costs as currently, and (c) buying more stock at these lower prices, but incurring more feed cost.
Ritossa argued he did not support borrowing to fund day-to-day operations.
“We are long stock, short feed and short cash,” the multimillionaire Ritossa wrote.
The court heard Ritossa’s evolving view that stock levels should be decreased had come after discussions with other land owners in the district, including Messrs MacLeod, Schwarzenbach and Crozier.
By March 2020, the drought broke, but so had the Carr-Ritossa relationship.
For the purposes of the trial, The Junction was valued at $36.6m, and Bogolara at $15.9m, but with a discounting of anywhere between 5 per cent to 40 per cent for a half share sale given it would not come with voting control.
His honour noted there had been no one out/all out arrangement, but there was a right of first refusal.
While many of the discussions had been “tense and may well have involved unpleasantness from the perspective of each of the participants,” they did not indicate that the board was unable to function, the judgment noted.
Dover Heights jewel passed in
The nation’s priciest weekend listing, the latest Dover Heights residential project of jewellers Tarik and Zena Kaddour, of House of K’dor, failed to sell at weekend auction.
The bidding stalled at $12m for the five-bedroom, five-bathroom Military Rd residence.
Its listing agents had signalled they had interest at $12m on its champagne launch last month.
The Kaddours bought the 569 sqm holding for $5,325,000 in 2021.
Sydney’s other expensive listing, Curraghbeena House, in Mosman was pulled from auction and its $12m price target reduced.
The 1905 Musgrave St property with heritage listed Chinese-style boatshed, is now listed with Dino Gatti at The Agency at a $10.5m price guide.
The listing has secured 6513 page views so far on realestate.com.au.
It has been listed for sale by the Gabrielle King, the widow of the late longtime Clayton Utz lawyer Rodon King who bought it in 2013 for $4.35m from Alliance Airlines co-founder Steve Padgett and wife Lorraine.
There were 36 prestige auction listings seeking $5m or more across Sydney and just 11 reported successful sales.
The auction of a modern home at 47 Beaumont St, Rose Bay, finished on a $10m vendor bid from auctioneer Damien Cooley and was later sold through Ray White agents Oliver Lavers and Elliott Placks at an unconfirmed $9.77m to clients of a publicity-shy buyer’s agent.
The top disclosed price was the $7.3m sale of 130 Hewlett St, Bronte – a
contemporary freestanding house through PPD agent Alexander Phillips, who had given a $6.8m guide.
Listed with approved plans by architects Trevor Black and Leigh Hellyer, it had failed to sell in 2022 when offered by coastal agent Willie Manning.
Former AFL executive pockets top price
The former AFL chief financial officer, Ian Anderson, secured Melbourne’s top price when his Edwardian home in Albert Park home fetched $6.25m.
Three parties competed for the four-bedroom, four-bathroom Kerferd Rd house that was listed with a $5m to $5.5m price guide through Jellis Craig Port Phillip agent Warwick Gardiner.
Anderson renovated after purchasing in 2006 for $1.75m.
There was a $5.6m reserve set by Anderson, who retired from the AFL in 2015 after 15 years as its CFO and moved to Queensland’s Sanctuary Cove, where he bought a property for $3.4m in 2021.
Melbourne’s priciest listing, Gallia, at Brighton was hoped to fetch between $6.9m and $7.4m through local agent Nick Johnstone but failed to find its buyer despite securing 10,514 page views on realestate.com.au.
The 1890s Victorian Italianate home has been modernised since being bought for $1.85m in 2001 by Musashi supplement brand founder Tim Horewood and wife Rowena.
Buyers’ agent Mal James calculated a 67 per cent success rate from 33 prestige Melbourne auctions.
The results included the 1978 Lewis Coote-designed house at 28 Irilbarra Rd, Canterbury that sold for $5,368,000 through Mark Josem at Jellis Craig who had given $4m to $4.4m guidance.
It was announced on the market at $4.5m and five bidders competed for the keys.
Fenagh Cottage, the St Kilda home of media celebrity Kate Langbroek and her husband, Peter Allan Lewis, failed to sell. Their 1850s prefabricated timber house listed with a guidance of $2.5m to $2.7m but was passed in on a $2.5m vendor bid, without any participation from the attendees.
Bidders fight it out
Brisbane’s priciest property, 673 Musgrave Rd, Robertson – a two-storey Tudor-style manor on 2580 sqm, sold for $6.2m through Ray White agent Eric Li. There were just two bidders, but the auction went for more than two hours.
The buyers were a family who have permanent residency, but travel between China and Australia.
The sellers, after 40 years, are off to the new Queens Wharf development in Brisbane.
Brisbane, with 152 auctions had a 62 per cent preliminary clearance rate, according to CoreLogic’s Tim Lawless.
The national preliminary auction clearance rate hovers around 70 per cent.
Top sale comes at a loss for Melbourne prestige mansion
Melbourne scored the nation’s highest advised weekend auction result, but it was at a significant loss.
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