Former York Capital managing director Owen Lennie has joined gold miner WRF Securities to form a new property division that will specialise in syndicates.
Lennie left York late last year when Australian Unity took over the Melbourne based syndicator.
“The new division will focus on property based products, including syndication, and the first product will be launched in July,” he says.
WRF Property is aiming to have funds under management of more than $200 million within three years.
WRF Securities managing director Rob Nichevich says the property division will form a key part of the company’s plans to generate a stream of new projects to add to its Tasmanian Blue Gum plantation on Kangaroo Island and a Paulownia plantation in Western Australia.
“These products offer high-returns for investors and we plan to replicate this model in the property sector in order to increase the momentum of our revenue growth,” Nichevich says.
The company is venturing into managed investments with the support of strong cash flows from its 49.9 per cent owned Dalgaranga Gold Mine in Western Australia. Forecasts for the gold mine indicate a cash-flow of $11 million in 2001, which will deliver a pre-tax contribution to WRF of $6 million.
Nichevich says this should put the group in a very strong cash position of more than $11 million by the end of the financial year.
