How the rich invest: Judgment sheds light on Tim Roberts’ savvy aviation investments

A recent court case has shed light on just how lucrative one of Tim Roberts’ aviation plays has been.

Tim Roberts and Alice Beach in 2017. Picture: The West Australian

He may have failed in a bid to win more than $50m damages, but a recent court case has shed some light on just how lucrative at least one firm Perth businessman Tim Roberts has invested in is.

Roberts would be one of the more savvy investors in the ranks of The List — Australia’s Richest 250, having pursued a diverse range of ventures since he and his family made about $1.2bn from the sale of construction giant Multiplex more than a decade ago.

Multiplex was founded by Roberts’ late father John, who built the business up into a global concern before a stockmarket listing and then a subsequent sale to Canadian company Brookfield in 2007.

Tim Roberts

• Age: 48
• Lives: Perth, Queenstown
• Estimated wealth: $962m
• Source: AVWest aviation and Warburton hedge fund
• Secrets of success: buying and onselling corporate jets for big profits

Roberts and his brother Andrew — who is also a member of the The List — would share in the bulk of the proceeds and then pursue different strategies.

For Tim Roberts that has meant ploughing money into property, a hedge fund business, Western Australian lobster pots and, like many magnates with interests in Perth, several mining investments.

Roberts has shareholdings in several ASX-listed companies, including some in the resources and mining services sectors, but it appears private aviation concern AVwest is his most profitable venture.

Roberts last week won a negligent action advice case against Clayton Utz, having pursued legal action against the high-profile law firm regarding a contract it had reviewed for the refurbishment of a $US31m private jet in 2010 which was later bought by Roberts’ business and subsequently destroyed in a fire while it was being modified.

But it was not quite the lucrative win Roberts has hoped for with the judge rejecting a damages claim for $US36.9m ($54.6m) even after finding Clayton Utz failed to exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence in providing legal advice while reviewing a cabin modification agreement later found to indemnify the Swiss company undertaking the refurbishment.

Roberts was only awarded $US546,725 ($804,000) in the WA Supreme Court, but the judgment shed light on the success of AVWest — it was described as “spectacularly successful” — in buying new and refurbished corporate jets to on-sell to wealthy families and individuals.

The judgment said AVWest annual profits rose from $23.7m in 2012 to $87.7m by 2014. Roberts’ company also made a net profit of over $172m on the purchasing of 50 aircraft or slots on the production line of luxury manufacturer Bombardier between 2009 and 2014.

Meanwhile, Roberts also looks to have made a good profit on an investment in the private coal mining firm Riversdale. He reportedly bought a stake worth $35-40m last December, only for billionaire miner Gina Rinehart to win a takeover battle by May for the company that saw its value lift considerably to $806.5m.

Roberts also has done well with shares in the listed Sonic Healthcare (SHL) and could do with lead miner Galena Mining (G1A).

Galena shares have more than doubled since the beginning of the year, surging about 118 per cent in that time. Roberts has emerged with a 6.85 per cent stake in Galena, having put $10m into the company via two tranches earlier this year

But those two transactions were priced at 40c per share, and Galena was trading at about 36c on Monday. Roberts also has options to acquire more Galena shares in the future.

It has been a better story for him in Sonic Healthcare, a laboratory services and pathology business which is up 33 per cent this year. Sonic counts another member of The List (Michael Boyd) as one of its biggest shareholders with a Roberts investment vehicle also sitting among the stock’s top 20 largest investors.

But Roberts is sitting on a paper loss on his shares in Mineral Resources (MIN), the listed mining and mining services company he resigned from the board of in June.

Citing the spending of more time at a residence he owns near Queenstown in New Zealand, Roberts stepped down after spending about two-and-a-half years on the Mineral Resources board.

Via his private company, Kingfisher Capital, Roberts had reportedly last December spent almost $30m buying more than 2 million shares in Mineral Resources at an average price of about $14.80 per share.

Mineral Resources shares are down about 14 per cent since January 1 and were trading at about $13.30 on Monday.