Harry Triguboff

Harry Triguboff has noted that soaring building material prices posed a risk to other construction companies.

His comments come against the backdrop of Queensland’s Privium Group, the ABD Group in Melbourne and the Hobart home builder Inside Out Construction.

However Mr Triguboff declined to make a prediction on whether more builders would hit the wall, when he spoke yesterday at The Australian Financial Review Property Summit.

“The building costs are going up a lot,” he noted, adding "subcontractors cannot guarantee the price.”

He noted the soaring building costs were making it hard for developers to price apartment projects being sold now for completion in two years time.

Mr Triguboff's company Meriton builds its own projects.

“It’s not a matter of the labour force asking for a 5 per cent increase or 3 per cent increase. Iron ore prices have come down, but the steel has gone up. And it’s going up by a lot, not by 2 per cent – [but by] 10-20 per cent. It’s going up a great deal.”

The debt free Meriton ended the financial year with about $3.17bn worth of investment properties on its balance sheet plus $207m worth of vendor finance loans it has supplied to buyers of its apartments.

Dexus CEO Darren Steinberg and Lendlease CEO Tony Lombardo also raised concerns about rising costs of steel and timber at the summit.

A resumption of immigration and end to lockdowns was crucial, the property executives told the summit.

Harry Triguboff noted the soaring building costs were making it hard for developers to price apartment projects being sold now for completion in two years time

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Apartment building costs are on the rise: Meriton boss Harry Triguboff's warning

Harry Triguboff has reportedly secured a Surfers Paradise apartment development site.

He has spent $75&thinsp;million to buy an oceanfront site consolidated by Singapore&rsquo;s Banyan Tree group.

The 4423sqm Banyan Tree site is at the northern end of the Esplanade.

The triangular site is partly occupied by the 46-year-old Bahia tower and the Beach Lodge low-rise.&nbsp;

Banyan Tree consolidated the site in 2014 for $50 &thinsp;million, then gained approval for a twin-tower project, Cassia Northpoint, and then the Singaporean-based hotel and resort operator looked for a joint venture partner for its proposed $500 million project.

<a href="https://www.urban.com.au/developments/gold-coast-qld?source_news_article_id=101626&amp;ref=news_body_link"><img alt="" height="797" src="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/gc_newest_tile_jpeg_4.jpg" width="1200" /></a>

The sale comes after it disposed a Brisbane holding on which it envisaged a 128-apartment tower.

Triguboff, 88, is close to completing a nearby 76-floor tower on The Esplanade, Surfers Paradise.

It was 2018 when Triguboff paid $58 million for the 22-level International Beach Resort (formerly the Apollo), to construct Ocean, a 76-level building with more than 700 serviced and residential apartments.

He plans two 55-floor towers for the Banyan site and the Gold Coast Bulletin says he will keep one of them with a Meriton Suites hotel.

Triguboff believes the Gold Coast is &ldquo;entering a new era&rsquo;&rsquo; post-Covid.

Harry Triguboff has reportedly spent $75 million on an oceanfront site in Surfers Paradise

jchancellor

Harry Triguboff's latest apartment site acquisition

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Meriton's Harry Triguboff has commenced proceedings against the NSW government's transformation arm UrbanGrowth.
It involves grievances around UrbanGrowth excluding Meriton from the tender of two residential super lots in Sydney's north shore.
Mr Triguboff previously sued UrbanGrowth in 2015 for excluding Meriton from the tender of the 1.5-hectare properties at "Lachlan's Line", the northern end of the North Ryde Station Priority Precinct for residential development.
Now Triguboff is going to the courts to gain access to tender information and documents under the Government Information (Public Access) Act after UrbanGrowth allegedly refused access under the Act.
The Lachlan’s Line project was announced by the NSW Government in 2013 as part of the NSW Government’s North Ryde Station Precinct. The new contemporary urban village will provide approximately 2,700 homes for around 5,000 residents.
"UrbanGrowth is responsible to get the best deal for the people of NSW," Harry Triguboff said.
"I would've thought they would welcome the opportunity to show everyone what a good job they are doing," Mr Triguboff said.
The site in question, known as Lachlan’s Line in Macquarie Park, was sold by UrbanGrowth to the Chinese developer, Greenland Investment (Australia) Pty Limited.
The current proceedings come after UrbanGrowth refused to provide any documents in answer to a formal application by Meriton under the Act. 
Meriton's General Counsel, Joseph Callaghan, said the current application was not an attempt to revive the earlier Supreme Court proceedings but about "ensuring a fair and transparent tender process".
The successful bidder of the two lots, Chinese developer Greenland, has applied to join the proceedings to allegedly block Meriton's request for access.
Greenland won the tender offering $190 million. It has since commenced presales at the $800 million 800-apartment project on the combined site known as "nbh". Meriton noted no settlement funds had yet been paid by the developer for the land.
This year two further high density superlots were offered for sale as one package via an expressions of interest campaign through Colliers International.
UrbanGrowth NSW's  second stage land release at Lachlan’s Line included an affordable housing offering which must be purchased by a community housing provider, or a private developer in a joint venture or similar.
Bates Smart had prepared the concept design for around 172 apartments and the third site of 96 affordable housing apartments.
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Triguboff seeks Greenland Lachlan's Line tender documents in Urbangrowth courtcase

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An article by the Fairfax Media Domain executive editor on Australia's richest man, the property developer Harry Triguboff has been taken down from the Sydney Morning Herald Domain website.
But not before several thousand shares after its brief Saturday posting.
The article about a hospital attendance was uploaded <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/execute_search?text=triguboff&amp;ss=smh.com.au%2Fexecute_search.html" target="_blank">at around 7am Saturday morning</a>.  
Only a cached version is accessible.
The now unpublished Domain article, which came with two seemingly surreptitious waiting room photos of the billioniare, was headlined:
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<h1>Australia’s richest person, Harry Triguboff is in public hospital waiting room</h1>
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<div><img src="https://static.domain.com.au/domainblog/uploads/2016/05/27211336/2_gp63to.jpg" alt="Australia's richest person, Harry Triguboff, at St Vincents on Friday morning." width="750" height="421"></div>
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<div>The removed article noted just days after being named the nation’s richest person that the property developer Harry Triguboff was "mixing with the hoi polloi at St Vincents (sic) Emergency. </div>
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<div>"Emerging from his Mercedes, with the aid of an aluminium stick, Triguboff, 83, who has built more apartments in Australia than anyone else, walked slowly through the doors."</div>
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<img src="https://static.domain.com.au/domainblog/uploads/2016/05/27211336/3_gp6a30.jpg" alt="Harry Triguboff has no plans to retire and will celebrate his top dog status on the Rich List with his many employees next week." width="353" height="465" style="font-size: 12.16px; line-height: 1.3em;">
“I’m just returning this boot, and I need to have some X-rays,” the article said he told the triage nurse in the Friday morning attendance.
He’d tripped over his little black four-month-old poodle, Susie, a week ago, and broken his toe.
“She was just playing,” he advised.
The SMH article author, Stephen Nicholls noted, "in the X-ray waiting room, I congratulated him on making it to the top of BRW’s list."
Triguboff topped the Fairfax Media's 2016 BRW Rich 200 list for the first time with $10.62 billion in wealth.
“Yes thank you, I’ve never been number one,” he said, again grinning broadly, the article noted.
“I’ve been number three a couple of times.”
What now for him, <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DakGh3FCYtcJ:www.domain.com.au/news/australias-richest-person-harry-triguboff-is-in-public-hospital-waiting-room-20160527-gp6238/+&amp;cd=4&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=au" target="_blank">Nicholls said he asked?</a>
"Any plans to retire? “Retire – what would I do?” he said, adding he’s “now got so much money, I don’t know what to do with it all”.
The Australian's Margin Call business gossip column had written of Harry's busted foot mid-last week illustrated with a <a href="https://nicholsoncartoons.com.au/2016-05-26-harry-triguboff-broke-his-foot-is-the-week-before-announcement-of-australias-richest-person-cartoon" target="_blank">Nicholson cartoon</a>.
*Jonathan Chancellor was the SMH property editor from 1986 to 2011, and has been a News Corp Australia property columnist since 2015.
 
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SMH Domain unpublishes article on Harry Triguboff's broken toe

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Meriton, Australia’s largest apartment developer, is selling its strata-title management business.
It looks after more than 6000 apartments in Sydney and the Gold Coast.
Harry Triguboff, the Meriton founder, said that the move was a response to wholesale reforms to the strata-title laws in NSW, which come into effect on December 1.
“One of those reforms effectively shuts Meriton, and other developers, out of having any role in the strata-management of their properties until the buildings are 10 years old,” he said.
“We are veterans in this business and haven’t taken the decision to exit it lightly.
“We’ve always run our own ship at our own developments and things have gone swimmingly and with great success.
Meriton is selling an entity which trades as Meriton Strata Management Pty Ltd and looks after 6194 lots spread over 33 schemes. Two of those are on the Gold Coast and are included in the selloff.
Meriton’s Ryan Walmsley said the gross annual income from base management fees and insurance commissions exceeded $1.1 million.
“There is potential upside from other expenses and fees that apply within each management contract.”
Mr Walmsley said two-thirds of the strata-management schemes in Meriton’s portfolio were under contract until 2018 or longer.
“The strata-scheme properties involved are in a metropolitan location and have been with us for many years.
 “Our portfolio will offer a great addition for any operator on the expansion trail.
“They will be buying well-maintained schemes that are big and viable – they have an average of 188 lots.”
Mr Walmsley said it had been evident for some time that strata-management companies were jostling for position and aggressively were targeting acquisitions.
“That’s happening against a backdrop of Australia turning into a nation of apartment dwellers.
“Nearly one third of NSW residents already live in apartments and one estimate is that the figure could climb to 50 per cent by 2040.”
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

Strata reforms trigger Meriton exit from strata management

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Developer Harry Triguboff now has over 3,000 apartments in Sydney as part of his property investment portfolio.
The Meriton group founder and owner has a total of 3066 apartments, estimated to be worth in excess of $3 billion.
Some 4500 serviced apartments are owned by Meriton.
Victor Toscano, Meriton’s head of residential leasing, said that the vacancy rate for the 6000‐plus apartment’s rent roll was only 0.06 per cent.
“This year we hit an all‐time record, signing up 134 tenants in one week and battled to keep up with demand, which is great for both Mr Triguboff and for our investor clients," he said,
“People want to be within easy reach of the CBD and they are after lifestyle – they want things like pools and gyms and they want shops, restaurants and cafes.
"The Triguboff‐owned apartments produced income of $79.57 million in the 2015‐16 year.
“A lot have been added to Mr Triguboff’s portfolio since June 30 so the income figure’s expected to top $100 million in the latest financial year.
“He’s extremely comfortable when it comes to keeping apartments because his company’s built the blocks and knows everything about them.
“He’s always insisted, be it for his own apartments or for those that are sold, that each building has a dedicated on‐site manager.”
"The holdings were spread across 11 Meriton projects and were in the suburbs of Chatswood, Lane Cove (pictured above), Chiswick, Rhodes, North Sydney, Waterloo, Zetland and Mascot.
“The first big block that was retained was at Bondi Junction, where the 305 apartments have since been converted to serviced apartments.”
Property Observer has a profile on the Tempe apartment block that got Harry Triguboff started in 1963 <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/nsw/20611-harry-triguboff" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Harry Triguboff Sydney apartment portfolio surpasses 3,000

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Billionaire developer Harry Triguboff has confirmed the Meriton Group mortgage book has grown by around $60 million in five months, to beyond $120 million, but he told the AB+F website the run was finished.
“As it happens, at the moment, I’m not approving any. Today nobody wants my money," he said.
Triguboff said talk of bubbles was "very irresponsible".
"This is an empty continent we need people. Australia is a big place. Here in Sydney we have a boom. A great boom,” he said, before adding: “I’m sure that in Melbourne or Brisbane there will be problems, I’m sure there will be - but what can you do?"
The billionaire said he was a reluctant banker and was only fulfilling a need. 
“I only do it when the banks suddenly stop. Because the world doesn’t suddenly stop. So I have to keep moving, we have to have a smooth run," he said. "If they (traditional lenders) refuse to give money for whatever reason, I will always step in." 
The last time lenders wings were clipped, Triguboff, lent $600 million to underpin apartment sales, when his net worth was far less.
“I never compete (with the banks),” he said. “They have clauses there, which they use on the Chinese now. They can get out and not give the money for some reason. It's nonsense. 
According to Triguboff the banks are allowing the regulators to cut their nose to spite the entire industry.
“They gave the developers money because they know the Chinese will buy - they give the money to the builder, the developer - but then when it comes to the purchaser they say ‘I cant give it to you' for some reason," he said. 
“They read what the foreign press says about these bubbles, then our authorities - APRA and ASIC - run to the banks. So the banks get frightened. So they decide they have to be careful … which is very good, they are careful. But I think our banks are really, very, very cautious.”
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Harry Triguboff says his lending has come to a halt

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Apartment king Harry Triguboff has renewed plans for a high rise in Surfers Paradise.
The 90-level beachfront skyscraper will replace a 22-level 1960s building on The Esplanade.
The highest apartments in the yet-to-be-named tower will look down on the units in the Gold Coast’s current tallest building, the 78-floor Q1 super tower.
The project also exceed in terms of floors, the 89-level Spirit building planned by Hong Kong’s Forise group.
Triguboff’s Meriton group has agreed to buy the International Beach Resort, originally the Apollo, for $58 million.
It will start demolition next month.
Meriton has selected a design submitted by SJB for the 3833sq m site, which is expected to have around 270 serviced apartments and 300 residential apartments.
Triguboff said a development application would be lodged by the end of February.
The Meriton tower would be split vertically into three distinctive tiers, each defined by coloured glass panels.
Circular halo effects atop each tier would be lit at night, creating a beacon along the foreshore.
Meriton is buying the International Beach Resort from Singapore businesswoman Gertrude Guok, who bought it for $11.4 million in 1993.
“The Surfers site is the best in town — the sort of property I’ve always dreamed of having on the Gold Coast,” said Mr Triguboff.
“The city’s displaying verve and vibrancy like I haven’t seen for years and it’s given me the confidence to make a big investment.
“With a site like this one, the sky’s the limit and we will do the Gold Coast proud.”
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Harry Triguboff seeks beacon-inspired Gold Coast tower with record 90 floors

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Harry Triguboff, Australia’s biggest apartment developer, is financing about $200 million mostly Chinese buyers of his apartments as China imposes tougher currency controls to get money out of the country.
Triguboff, the owner of developer Meriton Group, said his company didn’t lend until two years before, but with Australian banks tightening lending to Chinese investors and China making it harder to take out money, financing became an option.
"Now, [I'm lending] maybe $200 million. It might go up to $400 [million]. But then they will start paying back. This is the worst time. What's happening is I don't have old customers, so nobody's paying me back. So I'm building it up. In another year, they'll start paying me back,” Triguboff told the Australian Financial Review in an interview.
Despite saying he was "unfortunately" lending to his customers, it is something Triguboff, who topped the BRW Rich List for the first time last year with an estimated fortune worth $10.62 billion, can afford. Meriton's balance sheet is strong enough to extend finance to its customers. 
“I don’t <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/62224-harry-triguboff-s-meriton-lending-to-secure-apartment-buyers" target="_blank">want to be a banker,</a> but I have to be one if our banks won’t lend,” he said a while back.
Apartment prices are also weakening, he said.
"Now, if anything, it's going down a bit," Triguboff said. "It went up in the beginning of the year. Now it's gone down."
He expects to make $1.4 billion worth of apartment sales this year.
Apartment values in Sydney fell 1.2 percent in April while in Melbourne, they were down 0.9 percent, CoreLogic figures show. Meriton develops in NSW and Queensland but not in Victoria. 
Just last year, Tribugoff was worried that Chinese investors leaving the market would trigger a 10 per cent fall in Sydney apartment prices, which might have even blown out to a 20 per cent fall. 
Triguboff had predicted more buyers to forfeit their deposits and fail to ­settle off-the-plan units due to funding constraints, both as China clamped down on taking money out of the country and Australian banks tightened lending to overseas investors.
"The Chinese government is making it hard for them. That is the biggest problem,” he told the AFR.
But recently, the Chinese have started coming back as they think the Chinese government would start to ease the control towards the end of the year, fuelling optimism among investors.
Recently, Meriton raised his off-the-plan development prices up 3.5 per cent without seeing demand fall. 
Overseas Chinese are now snapping up some 50 per cent of Meriton apartments sold off the plan. Australian-born Chinese are taking around 25 per cent and Australian investors/first homebuyers are taking about 25 per cent, according to a recent article in The Australian.
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Triguboff lending around $200 million to Chinese buyers to tide over their funding crisis

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There are 60 billionaires on the 2017 Financial Review Rich List - the most ever there has been in the 34-year history of the list.
There were 53 last year.
Not unexpectedly, property remains the dominant sector on this year’s list, with 58 rich listers making most of their money in the property sector. (see list at bottom below)
Harry Triguboff comes in second overall with a boost in fortune to $11.4 billion.
The top property five included Frank Lowy, John Gandel, Hui Wang Mau and Lang Walker. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/05/26/Property.jpg" alt="">
The least known is Hong-Kong based Hui Wang Mau, who holds most of his wealth in the Hong Kong-listed Shimao Property Group which owns <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/expert-insights/investing/38016-singaporeans-sell-hyde-park-sydney-office-to-hui-wing-mau-s-shimao-property" target="_blank">175 Liverpool Street in Sydney</a>.
He is included as he has Australian citizenship after studying for an MBA at the University of South Australia in the early 1990s. His fortune is $6 billion.
The much-awaited BRW Rich List is out on news stands on Friday, but the top of the top richest in Australia have been announced. 
<a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/70734-packaging-magnate-anthony-pratt-displaces-harry-triguboff-for-top-spot-on-brw-rich-list" target="_blank">Anthony Pratt</a>, the packaging and recycling tycoon, tops the Financial Review Rich List with $12.60 billion in wealth, swapping places with apartment developer Harry Triguboff.
Anthony Pratt’s Visy cardboard box manufacturing and recycling business dominates Australia, but his rising wealth is mainly due to the huge growth of Pratt Industries in the United States.
He was last #1 on the list of Australia’s 200 wealthiest people in 2009, just months after his father Richard Pratt died. He has since more than doubled the size of the Visy and Pratt Industries businesses in Australia and the US.
Last year’s no. 1 and Australia’s top apartment builder Harry Triguboff is #2 on the list with wealth of $11.45 billion. In spite of losing the top spot, Triguboff’s wealth is a record figure.
Mining tycoon Gina Rinehart is #3 with a wealth of $10.41 billion, up from $6.06 billion last year as commodity prices rise and iron ore production improves.
Her estranged daughter Bianca Rinehart, who controls 23 per cent of Hancock Prospecting, is also among the billionaire ranks (#15, $2.74 billion).
The Rineharts are two of 22 women making appearances on the 2017 Rich List, with 10 of them hitting the billionaire mark. The Rineharts, whose combined wealth equals $13.15 billion, are the top two women on the list and the richest people in their respective states (Perth and Brisbane).
Westfield chairman Frank Lowy is #4 on the list with $8.26 billion in wealth, followed by Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg at #5 with $6.85 billion.
Glasenberg’s wealth rose from $3.33 billion a year ago as the commodity trading giant’s share price surges following a tough few years.
The list’s highest ranked debutant is Tim Roberts, son of the late Multiplex founder John Roberts. Tim Roberts, aged 46, debuts at #62 with wealth of $986 million. He operates the Perth Jet Centre and hedge fund manager Warburton Group.
Actress Nicole Kidman is the highest entertainer of this year’s Rich List at 97, with wealth of $347 million.
Long-time rich lister and owner of Canberra airport, <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/expert-insights/investing/70686-terry-snow-is-australia-s-newest-billionaire" target="_blank">Terry Snow</a>, is the newest billionaire.
Melbourne property developer, <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/70837-melbourne-property-developer-larry-kestelman-the-second-highest-debutant-on-rich-list" target="_blank">Larry Kestelman</a>, is ranked the second highest debutant on the list.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/25/OverallTop5.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/05/25/OverallTop5.png" alt="">
The combined wealth of the top 5 male Rich Listers more than doubles the combined wealth of the top 5 female Rich Listers, totalling $46 billion compared with $18.37 billion.
Many on the list that have made money in other industries have poured their proceeds into property development or management businesses.
Property is followed by investment (21), resources (18), retail (18) and financial services (16), with agriculture, manufacturing, technology, media, healthcare, entertainment, travel, transport, telecommunications and education also featuring in the list.
Property is followed by investment (21), resources (18), retail (18) and financial services (16), with agriculture, manufacturing, technology, media, healthcare, entertainment, travel, transport, telecommunications and education also featuring in the list.
Other highlights:
<ul>
<li>This year is the first in the 34-year history of the Rich List that three names are above the $10 billion mark.</li>
<li>Total wealth of the Rich List is up to $233.1 billion, from $197.3 billion last year.</li>
<li>The average wealth per person on the Rich List rises to a record $1.16 billion, up from $987 million last year.</li>
<li>There are 22 women on the 2017 Financial Review Rich List.</li>
<li>The combined wealth of the top 5 men on the list is more than double that of the top 5 women.</li>
<li>There are 8 female billionaires.</li>
<li>There are 10 new names on the list this year.</li>
<li>Departures from the Rich List include the late James Fairfax and Michael Crouch.</li>
</ul>
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Harry Triguboff

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