88 BUSINESS SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 726 161 • SATURDAY OCTOBER 20 2018 • GOLDCOASTBULLETIN.COM.AU

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THE future of failed cafe chainMax Brenner, its 17 stores andstaff, now looks doomed afterone-time white knights, Tozer& Co, have walked away com-pletely from resuscitating thebrand in Australia.

Queensland-based invest-ment firm Tozer & Co is oper-ated by 38-year-old twinbrothers David and CraigTozer. Managing directorDavid Tozer said yesterday alldeals were off as he was unableto reach a satisfactory agree-

relatively small market com-pared with the three big east-ern state capital cities andthere is an oversupply of allprofessionals, not just builders,in the area because everyonewants to live here.

“Our building company isgeared up for that and so aremost tradies and suppliersfrom Gold Coast to Brisbane.

“A lot of suppliers are noware stationed in suburbs thatbridge the gap between theGold Coast and Brisbane, suchas Yatala and Pimpama to takeadvantage of that proximity toboth markets.”

Romark Design Construc-tions is celebrating 30 yearsthis month, a time frame thathas netted the group a raft ofawards, including QueenslandMaster Builders Associationgongs for best kitchen, besthome on a sloping site, andstate and regional house above$1 million.

Mr Settree has served as the

No sweet deal struck for Max Brenner chocolate chainELI GREENBLAT ment with the liquidator to

Max Brenner Australia to buytheir stock, take over theirstores and bring across staff.

BDO Australia was ap-pointed liquidator of MaxBrenner in Australia earlierthis week. Mr Tozer also saidthe licence to operate the MaxBrenner brand in Australia,which he had secured from theNew York-based parent com-pany Max Brenner Industries,expired late yesterday and hewould have nothing more todo with Max Brenner in Aus-tralia or trying to revive it.

“I am devastated,’’ Mr Tozersaid. “I’m done. I’m over.’’

This means that BDO couldnow close all remaining 17stores in Australia, includingone at South Bank in Brisbaneand two on the Gold Coast. Be-fore the company went intovoluntary administration lastmonth it had 37 stores nation-ally. “We had a plan and a vi-sion to restore the chain toprofitability and to save thejobs of staff, but the commer-cial roadblocks and impedi-ments were insurmountable,”Mr Tozer said. “In the short

time of our involvement wewere working to welcomethose employees into our fam-ily and do everything neededto bring Max back to its formerglory. At a time when the Aus-tralian retail industry is underenormous pressure to retaincommercial viability, it’s ex-tremely disappointing that thisdeal couldn’t proceed.

BDO said it had exploredbut was unable to “enter into” atransaction with Tozer & Co.“We will continue to trade thecompany whilst we explore op-tions with the licensor,The Max Brenner store at Southport. Picture: RICHARD GOSLING

LUXURY Gold Coast buildersare targeting Brisbane suburbsto grow their businesses.

According to high-end GoldCoast builder Mark Settree, ofRomark Design Construc-tions, builders are snakingtheir way up the M1 in order totake on Brisbane’s competitiveluxury homes market. And therewards can be big.

Mr Settree said Brisbaneproperty owners weremuch more likely than onGold Coast to buy an existinghouse, tear it down and build anew home.

“The homes we are workingon in Brisbane can range invalue from $1.5 million up tonearly $6 million,” he said.

“We’ve been doing work inPaddington and out at Bel-mont, where there’s a million-aires row on Boston Rd.

“It was a farm that wassubdivided into 2.5-acre (1ha)lots and its all 10 minutes fromthe CBD.”

It’s a big move for a com-pany that traditionally workedin the Gold Coast’s northernand central suburbs, butMr Settree said it was a logicalmove, not just for them butfor many other Glitter Stripbuilders.

“The Gold Coast market is a

High-end builders head north

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DENIS DOHERTYdenis.doherty@news.com.au

Gold Coast chairman and vice-chairman of the Master Build-ers in the past, as well as sittingon the State Housing Commit-tee in Brisbane.

Mr Settree said he and wifeRamona formed the companyon the Coast, starting outbuilding spec homes beforemoving into the luxury homescategory.

“Our son, Jason Settree,joined the company 10 yearsago and is a site director on allour projects,” Mr Settree said.

He said despite aiming tobreak into the Brisbane mar-ket, Romark wasn’t ignoringits home base.

“The company is currentlyperforming extensive reno-vation work for an internation-al client in Sanctuary Cove,”he said.

“The client’s home design isso unique, Sanctuary Cove hashad to update its adopted stan-dards for building structures tosuit this full renovation and theapproval took some eightmonths to achieve.

“It’s the largest renovationof its type in Sanctuary Cove.

“We are also building for arepeat client where we hadbuilt their residence on acre-age some eight years ago andthey have now returned to usto build their office administra-tion building on their propertyat Guanaba.”

ROMARK DESIGN CONSTRUCTIONSFounded: 1988Employees: 50Business: Builder of high-end luxury homes on the Gold Coast and BrisbaneWebsite: romarkdesign.com.au

ASIC calls for proper fundingMICHAEL RODDAN

THE head of the corporatewatchdog has urged the fed-eral government to properlyfund its financial regulators inthe wake of a bruising interimreport from the banking royalcommission.

Appearing at a parliamen-tary oversight committee yes-terday, Australian Securitiesand Investments Commissionchair James Shipton said HongKong’s financial regulatorswere three times better fundedthan Australia’s, on a like-for-like scale.

In his interim report lastmonth, royal commissionerKenneth Hayne accused ASICand the banking watchdog, theAustralian Prudential Regu-lation Authority, of a weak ap-proach to enforcing the lawagainst rogue financial com-panies.

Earlier this week, itemerged the CommonwealthDirector of Public Prosecu-tions had warned Attorney-General Christian Porter itwould need more funding totackle the legal cases from theroyal commission.

ASIC’s budget was ham-mered by the Abbott Govern-ment before money wasrecommitted to the watchdogby the Turnbull Government,and then increased again for aseries of special projects.

James Shipton.

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Romark Design Constructions’ Mark Settree in front of his latest project at Sanctuary Cove and (inset) one of the multimillion-dollar homes he has built in Brisbane. Main picture: MIKE BATTERHAM