Lovisa the jewel in Brett Blundy’s crown

Billionaire Brett Blundy is proving there’s plenty of life left in the retail sector just yet.

Brett Blundy is one of Australia’s largest landholders.

Billionaire Brett Blundy is proving there’s plenty of life left in the retail sector just yet.

Blundy is the major shareholder in the ASX-listed jewellery chain Lovisa, which has been one of the strongest performers among Australian stocks this year and hit a record high on Friday.

Lovisa is the jewel in Blundy’s collection of investments. Its shares are up by more than 90 per cent since January 1, giving him a stake worth more than $530 million for his 40 per cent shareholding in a company that now has market capitalisation of almost $1.3bn.

It is also one of the best stockmarket listings in recent years. Lovisa shares have increased six times in value after floating on the ASX at $2 per share in December 2014.

Lovisa has more than $100m in annual sales outside Australia, and opened 24 stores in the UK and Europe last year and 18 in the US.

Brett Blundy

• Age: 59
• Lives: Bahamas
• Net worth: $1.42bn
• Source: Collection of retail businesses through BBRC Worldwide
• Secrets of success: Well-placed and well-priced retail offerings such as jewellery chain Lovisa.

Accounts lodged with Companies House showed Lovisa making a £1.5m ($2.7m) loss on £10m revenue in 2018, the latest available financial information, in the UK.

Lovisa said in the accounts that Brexit could have an adverse impact on its performance in the UK given its products are “discretionary” and not “necessities”. But it also added that given the company’s “competitive price point … we believe the business is well placed to manage whatever economic conditions prevail”.

Blundy’s fortune was recorded at $1.42bn when The List — Australia’s Richest 250 was published by The Australian in March, though that figure is likely to have increased given the good performance of Lovisa and other stocks Blundy holds.

He has more than $1.1bn in shares across four listed retail or retail-related stocks, led by Lovisa but also including the Aventus Property Group, homewares group Adairs and Accent Group, the owner of brands such as Platypus, Athlete’s Foot, Skechers and Hype DC.

Accent shares are up 30 per cent this year, pushing the value of Blundy’s 18 per cent stake to almost $160m.

$12 Lovisa last traded down 38¢ q

Blundy’s shares in Aventus are worth $377m. He has a 27 per cent stake in the company, which has a portfolio of 20 large format retail centres worth $2.1bn and has seen its shares increase in value by 22 per cent since January 1.

Adairs has been the laggard for Blundy, having fallen 9 per cent this year. But its shares jumped more than 8 per cent on Monday when it said that while its profit outlook was flat it expected its costs to reduce from investing in its supply chain and logistics capabilities.

Then there is the private Honey Birdette lingerie business, which has more than 50 stores across Australia and is expanding into Britain and the US.

It made a net profit of about $7.4m from $51m of revenue in the 2018 financial year, according to documents lodged with the corporate regulator.

Those results were up from a $4.5m profit and income of $42m in the previous year. Honey Birdette paid its shareholders, including Blundy, a dividend of $7m for the year.

The brand has attracted some controversy, including criticism of its advertising campaign and Blundy has reportedly faced court action from a co-founder who has alleged she was short-changed when she sold her stake in the business five years ago.

Blundy had legal success last year in another case, when he secured a $100m payout from another member of The List in Ian Malouf for Blundy’s then stake in Malouf’s Dial-a-Dump, which was later sold to the ASX-listed Bingo Industries.

Blundy, now based in the Bahamas, made $500m from the sale of another retail chain in Bras’n’Things in February 2018 and more recently offloaded his luxury superyacht Cloud 9. The Perfectly Placed retail recruitment business and Mr Vitamins chain are also in his portfolio, and he also owns commercial properties.

Blundy is also one of the biggest landholders in Australia through his BBRC Beef business, a market he first invested in during 2010. AGJournal list him as the country’s 13th largest land holders with 2.37m hectares across four cattle stations in the Northern Territory. His company runs more than 175,000 cattle and paid $100m for two of its stations in 2015.