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Qld's 20 biggest home sales of the year revealed

News.com.au

10 hours ago

News.com.au

Qld's 20 biggest home sales of the year revealed

The Sunshine State is fast becoming the nation's new money magnet for property seekers, with a record-breaking $40m Queensland deal making the country's list of the 20 biggest sales of the financial year. A whopping $380m was spent on just 20 residential properties in the past 12 months — five in Brisbane, and the rest scattered across the Gold Coast and Noosa — with agents reporting an exodus of Melbourne buyers and an influx of local buyers. Among the cashed-up buyers and sellers are an airport magnate and airline CEO, a professional surfer, a fashion label founder, and an online betting guru. From LA-inspired mansions and rare beachfront blocks on the Gold Coast to large estates in Brisbane's fanciest suburbs, there was no shortage of money changing hands for properties priced above $5m, despite the struggle for many to even get into the market. Cohen Handler Queensland director Jordan Navybox said the level of interest in Brisbane properties in the $5m-plus category had been 'huge'. 'In suburbs like Teneriffe and Ascot, only a handful of properties are on the market,' Mr Navybox said. MORE: Owners collect 20-times profit on stunning beach shack sale Mr Navybox said the broader Brisbane market continued to show 'remarkable resilience' in the current high interest rate environment. 'Since January, of our 210 purchases so far, we have sourced and purchased 37 properties over $5m, including 12 over $10m. That increase in prestige transactions over the past five years is tenfold. Queenslanders are investing more and more in their principal place — and rightfully so being the only tax free asset we'll own. 'There's a lot of noise out there, geopolitically, post-election legislation, pending interest rate decisions, volatile stock market, but in South East Queensland, confidence is holding. 'ANZ is forecasting a nine to 10 per cent uplift in Brisbane property prices for the calendar year, outpacing other capital cities once again. 'I expect the growth to be greater than that if we see the 75 basis point total rate reduction that is forecast by Christmas.' Place Estate Agents managing director Sarah Hackett, who negotiated two of the biggest apartment sales of the year, said demand for apartment living was 'so strong'. 'We've got so many people wanting to downsize and forgo the maintenance of a big home and go to one level of living,' Mrs Hackett said. 'They want something of scale, but without the upkeep.' She said many people in New Farm, Hamilton, and surrounding suburbs, were looking to downsize to house-sized apartments. On the Gold Coast, the Kollosche team reported a number of suburb records were broken during the past year. 'While blue-chip locations such as Broadbeach Waters, Sorrento and Mermaid Waters continued to excel, new benchmarks were also set in emerging suburbs such as Bilinga, Currumbin Waters and Pacific Pines,' the agency stated in its end-of-year report. 'These results suggest that buyers are casting the net wider, exploring up-and-coming areas where value and lifestyle align.' QLD'S TOP 20 HOME SALES OF FY 2025 1. Jefferson Lane and Fourth Ave, Palm Beach - $40m The couple behind this buy blew away the competition when they dropped $40m on a beachfront property in Palm Beach — a new Queensland residential sale price record. The amalgamated purchase, which spans 1525 sq m over three titles, was sold by former Sydney Swans AFL player and property investor Tony Smith, who owns FINNS Beach Club in Bali. The buyer plans to demolish the 1960s beach shack, villa, and timber pole house on the site to make way for two new beach homes. 2. Sutherland Ave, Ascot - $23m A new record home price for Brisbane was established with the sale of a heritage-listed home in the affluent suburb of Ascot for $23m through Damon Warat of Ray White Ascot and Jordan Navybox of Cohen Handler Queensland. The property had been renovated by construction boss Brett Walker of BWC Group, who paid $10m for it in 2021. 3. Noosa Pde, Noosa Heads - $22.5m A richlister who made a fortune selling off a childcare business snapped up this $22.5m holiday home and has made it available for the experience of a lifetime on his private Airbnb-style service. Brendan McAssey, who sold his now 80-strong childcare chain Only About Children for circa $400m over eight years ago, has been steadily buying up luxury 'toys' that he makes earn their keep via a prestigious Airbnb-style service for the wealthy. The six-bedroom, six-bathroom trophy home designed by Stephen Kidd was sold by Nic Hunter and Tom Offermann of Tom Offermann Real Estate. 4. Mcmillan Court, Southport - $22m Former Gold Coast Suns boss Tony Cochrane and wife Thea sold their Gold Coast mansion for $22m. The Cochranes, who are global sports and entertainment producers, had had the property on the market since November, 2023. Coastal's Matt Lanyon and McGrath Gold Coast North's James Courtney teamed up to get the mega deal sealed. Set over four levels, the home includes five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a six-car basement. 5. Gordon St, Hawthorne - $20.25m This riverfront property sold for $20.25m through Sarah Hackett of Place Estate Agents to a local family. The six-bedroom home on a 2985 sq m block has 32m of river frontage, a 20m private jetty, a riverside pool and bar, tennis court, and gym, to name just a few of the features. 6. Jefferson Lane, Palm Beach - $20.2m A pair of original beachfront shacks yielded an astonishing 20-fold profit for a family who had held the land for more than 30 years. Records show online betting guru Andrew Fahey was the buyer of the 817 sqm parcel at Palm Beach after making an unprecedented offer that trumped several developers. Marketing agent Nick Williams, of Williams Real Estate Indooroopilly, said the buyer intended to build a showstopper family home after flipping another property. Records show the Brisbane-based owners, Rhiannon Wihardjo and Linda Fan, paid $1,072,500 for the two lots with combined 20m beach frontage in 1993. 7. Virginia Ave, Hawthorne - $20m A Brisbane riverfront mansion listed by a major pharmacy chain's founder sold late last year after a search for an offer more than $20 million. Don Gardiner and his wife Colleen initially put their Hawthorne mansion up for sale in August of 2023, later pausing the sale and resuming in 2024. The five-bedroom, six-bathroom home was sold by Sarah Hackett, who described it as a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity. The buyer remains confidential. 8. Newstead Tce, Newstead - $20m A new record was set for Brisbane's apartment market in February with the sale of this iconic penthouse. The 1060 sqm, riverfront property in the exclusive Pier development in Newstead was formerly owned by retired company director, Howard Stack and his wife, Hilary, who paid $14.25m for it in 2008 — a record at the time. 9. Southern Cross Drive, Surfers Paradise - $18.5m This Hollywood Hills-style mega mansion on a prized Main River triple block sold under the hammer for $18.5m in February. Thirteen, mostly local, bidders registered for the Surfers Paradise trophy home following a high-profile sales campaign by Kollosche principal, Michael Kollosche, and agent, Jamie Harrison. 10. Marseille Court, Sorrento - $18m This extravagant mansion, known for hosting parties with world-famous celebrities, was once the Gold Coast's most expensive home: built in the 1980s for businessman Sir Justin Hickey and his wife, Lady Barbara Hickey. The two would go on to host a range of opulent parties on the property, with guests such as Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, and the Rolling Stones. 11. Refinery Pde, New Farm - $17.5m In one of the biggest sales for Brisbane this year, a mega penthouse with a wellness centre and eight-car garage in New Farm sold for $17.5m. The seller, Brisbane expat Ben Cleary, a director of multi-billion dollar fund manager, Tribeca Investment Partners, paid $10m for the property in 2020 — a record price at the time. Place Estate Agents managing director Sarah Hackett negotiated the sale of the property to a local family. 12. Hedges Ave, Mermaid Beach - $17m This mansion on Hedges Ave, Mermaid Beach, had been held by the same family for 25 years before recently selling off-market for a price that sets a benchmark for the coveted oceanfront stretch known as Billionaire's Row. The sale equates to $41,975 per square metre. Records show the property had been owned by Louise Gordon since December 2000, when it was purchased for $1.55m. 13. Minyama Island, Minyama - $17m This near-new, jawdropping mansion smashed the suburb sale price record when it sold earlier this year for $17m through Jordan Lund of Elite Lifestyle Properties. The luxurious, architecturally-designed property on Queensland's Sunshine Coast was snapped up by a young businessman from interstate. 14. Allambi Rise, Noosa Heads - $16.9m This decades-old cottage with sea views, originally built in the 1960s, was snapped up by a highflying Brisbane buyer. The property had been owned for the past 50 years by a Melbourne family, trading under Hemingway Holdings Pty Ltd. 15. Hedges Ave, Mermaid Beach - $16.75m The owner of Australia's only privately funded airport, Toowoomba Wellcamp forked out almost $17m for this beachfront holiday home. Records show the vendor, Azzura Group boss Roberto Badalotti, purchased the property for $9m from former Gold Coast Suns chair Tony Cochrane in 2007. Three years later, the property transferred to Mermaid Property Group for $4.1m, with Mr Badalotti listed as a director of the company. 16. Monaco St, Broadbeach Waters - $16.5m The luxurious Gold Coast estate known as The Bachelor mansion sold for $16.5m six months after the sensational collapse of an $18m contract on the riverfront trophy mansion. The Broadbeach Waters property that was used as the backdrop of The Bachelors, which aired on Channel 10 in January, 2023, first hit the market in 2023. Property records reveal the seller, Sharon Cummings, paid $14.5m for the estate in October, 2021. 17. Hilton Tce, Noosaville - $16.5m Once the home of the late philanthropist, Harry Spring, who donated much land to the Noosa community, this riverfront site was snapped up before going to market just last week. Selling agent Tom Offermann of Tom Offermann Real Estate said it sold to a buyer on his database who 'recognised the rarity' of the 1940 sqm, north-facing site with a jetty and boat ramp. The new owners plan to demolish the current house and re-build. 18. Golden Four Dr, Bilinga - $16.05m Surf legend Mick Fanning scored $16.05m for his beachfront dream home in a pre-auction wipeout deal setting a new benchmark for the southern Gold Coast. The three-time world champion's Bilinga property was snapped up by a local family a week before it was scheduled to go under the hammer, becoming the most expensive residential home sold between Coolangatta and Currumbin. 19. Monaco St, Broadbeach Waters - $15.51m An entertainer's dream home built by Thunder From Down Under founder Billy Cross and his wife Jackie changed hands for $15.51m earlier this year. The entrepreneurial couple sold their LA-inspired mansion to former KPMG global executive James Collier for $12.4m in July 2021, but he put the trophy home back on the market three years later. It had been listed at $16.75m, but the vendors dropped their asking price and sealed a deal. 20. Bayview Rd, Noosa Heads - $15m Bidding started at $10m when this property went to auction in November, before selling to a mystery buyer, who plans to use it as a 'home away from home', according to marketing agent Chris Miller of Tom Offermann Real Estate. It was built by Deborah and Glen Watson, whose previous luxury homes in the area have sold for as much as $13.5m. *************************** 20. 55 Knightsbridge Parade West, Sovereign Islands - $14.5m Buyer: Undisclosed Seller: John Corbett This sprawling waterfront estate on Sovereign Islands changed hands for $14.5m. The seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom house on a 1,458 sqm canalfront lot featured a distinctive medieval-style facade and was known locally as 'the castle'. Coastal agent Edin Kara negotiated the sale. 24 Winch Court, Mermaid Waters - $14.005m 153 Hedges Ave, Mermaid Beach - $13.75m, May Buyer: Wade and Caroline von Bibra 16. 38 Seaview Tce, Sunshine Beach - $13.1m, September Buyer: Brad Heath, managing director of Sure Insurance 17. 56 Windermere Rd, Hamilton - $13m Seller: Retail entrepreneurs Michael and Melissa Josephson, founders of Universal Store 18. 19 Key Court, Noosa Heads - $13m, July Buyer: Regis Healthcare co-founder Bryan Dorman 19. Wendell St, Norman Park - $13m, June Seller: Max Panettiere of Panettiere Developments 71 Jefferson Lane, Palm Beach - $13m, August 20. 8/49 Maxwell St, New Farm - $12.8m, January Buyer - John O'Brien, wife Helen, founder of Poolwerx 20 Langisde Rd, Hamilton - $12.7m, 9/81 Hastings St, Noosa Heads - $12.51, November Buyer: Cameron Bertalli, CEO and Managing Director of Patterson Cheney Cars and Truck 7 Prospect Tce, Hamilton - $12.3m, September Buyer - Louis Zenonos Seller: Adam and Daniella Carmichael, who relocated to Brisbane after selling up their auto dealerships in Townsville 30 Mount St, Burleigh Heads - $12m, March Seller: Adam Sullivan Buyer: RSL Queensland for Dream Home Art Union 28/74-86 Old Burleigh Rd, Surfers Paradise- LA Sabbia penthouse 2 Wave St, Mermaid Beach - $11.6m, April Steven Stoddart Whipbird, Panorama , Doonan - $11.2m 12 Elystan Rd, New Farm - $10.7m, December Seller: Buyer: Jamie and Nicky Charman

Cassy's teary farewell to passengers went viral. Now her airline is back in the game

Sydney Morning Herald

11 hours ago

Sydney Morning Herald

Cassy's teary farewell to passengers went viral. Now her airline is back in the game

It was a memorable moment at the start of the pandemic. In late March 2020, Cassy Appleton, Virgin Australia crew supervisor, delivered a pre-landing safety message to passengers that she appended with a farewell speech for the airline's international operation. Choking back tears, Appleton thanked customers and praised colleagues. Epitomising the fear of the widening COVID-19 pandemic, Appleton's speech quickly went viral. For Virgin Australia, the unknowns at the time were arguably more profound. Within weeks of the speech, the company – once a domestic competitor for Qantas, the only one – would be in voluntary administration, delisted from the ASX, later sold to US-based private equity group Bain Capital. On Tuesday, Virgin, reorganised, under new management, backed now by a Middle Eastern aviation behemoth, took the leap and returned to the Australian Securities Exchange, a viable, listed competitor to Qantas. Virgin has come full circle, in the process facing down reluctant regulators, unions and global uncertainty spurred by US President Donald Trump's trade wars – as well as hot wars in the Middle East. 'We're very proud of the product and service that we put out there,' chief executive Dave Emerson said. 'We provide strong competition and great value and service for Australian consumers'. Yet, the timing of Virgin's IPO only became a certainty a few months ago, after a number of conditions fell into place: the new chief executive, restored investor interest, the support of its largest union, the backing of stakeholder Qatar, Virgin's new strategy to be a simpler, more focused airline, and, ironically, the strength of Qantas' share price helping showcase domestic appetite for aviation stocks. Emerson took the role of chief executive in March, the same month the government approved Qatar Airways to take a share of Virgin and to participate in the 'wet-lease' agreement that allowed the Doha-based airline to increase the number of flights from Australia by 28 a week. The government had denied Qatar Airways' application for additional flights in 2023, citing elusive reasons of 'national interest'. Transport Minister Catherine King's inability to explain the basis of the government's rationale prompted a Senate inquiry which examined Qantas' potential influence on the government's ruling. Speaking this week before Virgin listed, Emerson reflected: '[It] was pretty difficult for us to go to market when there was uncertainty about whether that deal would be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board. I think that that was the key trigger of us then being able to start to market the company.' Virgin's reliance on the government's approval of Qatar's participation was ironic, given the government's unwillingness to bail Virgin out during its 2020 fall. It was out of this dark period for aviation that Qantas laid off 1800 staff illegally, creating the industry backdrop from which Virgin would rise. 'It's a brutal industry, and Qantas has been a brutal player in that industry,' said Emily McMillan, national assistant secretary of the Transport Workers Union, which is the largest representative of Virgin employees. Loading The union was relieved when Virgin ended speculation and said its chief customer and digital officer, Paul Jones, who had earlier been involved in Qantas' industrial relations, would not replace outgoing boss Jayne Hrdlicka as chief executive. TWU's McMillan said: 'We're pleased that Virgin have made key choices in these last five years as they've navigated through this process to work with its workforce in a different way.' Ruling out Jones, who replaced Emerson as Virgin's chief commercial officer, paved the way for Emerson – one of the least known personalities in Australian aviation – to be named chief of the airline. Emerson was part of the Bain Capital team looking over the restructuring of the troubled airline that the US private equity group took control of in 2020. Father of four sons, a sometime reader of sci-fi (John Scalzi and Martha Wells) and author Michael Lewis, and a somewhat reluctant pickleball player, Emerson brought years of experience in aviation consulting from Bain & Company, where his predecessor Jayne Hrdlicka had once worked. Loading As the pandemic hit, Emerson and his wife had already been looking for an overseas posting. He said he had just dropped his youngest son off at university, before heading to the plane to come to Australia, a place that is the 'opposite of a hardship posting'. However, given the time, Emerson's first impression of the country was limited to the walls of a Marriott hotel room where he stayed upon COVID quarantine. Bain had named Reunion Capital as the independent adviser in 2023, which then appointed Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barrenjoey as book builders of the deal. Emerson's appointment in March signalled the start of the IPO process. Once Bain decided to launch, brokers and investors moved quickly to secure significant volumes of investor demand. On his first day on the job, Emerson met investors, as well as staff in Brisbane and Sydney, going on a tour of Virgin's front-line staff that would take him to Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide. Importantly, he met the union. 'We met with Dave Emerson on the first day of his job,' said TWU's McMillan, 'which we thought was a really positive sign of working collaboratively with the workforce.' Loading Emerson was to simplify the business, pivoting away from the complexity that helped expose it to loss before 2020. The plan was also to be focused on areas where Virgin could compete effectively. 'We want to win in the segment of the market that we've chosen to serve, the value segment,' Emerson said. That didn't mean unlimited, unchecked competition against larger rival Qantas, which helped drive Virgin towards unsustainable debt levels before 2020. Rather, Virgin would compete for premium leisure, small and medium business customers and value-minded corporate customers. 'We have a lot of respect for Qantas,' said Emerson, who notes that Qantas does a good job serving its core customer segments. 'That's one of the reasons that we chose the business model that, we thought, was built around segments that aren't as well served in their existing ... model.' Qatar Airways' participation would help. Virgin operates a simplified fleet of 100 mostly 737s domestically and in overseas destinations such as Fiji, Bali and Vanuatu. Under the 'wet-lease agreement' with Qatar, Virgin could 'carefully re-enter' long-haul travel while sidestepping the complex planning and operations it demands. (Under the deal, Qatar will provide the planes and crew for flights sold by Virgin.) From Qatar, Virgin gets commissions on flights sold, more users of its Velocity loyalty program, and, with more people flying into Australia, more traffic into Virgin's domestic lines. That's all good as long as international travel holds up, which is no certainty in a time of war in the Middle East and Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariff announcements. Emerson said: 'The way our partnership with Qatar is structured, our economics are focused on the domestic business, and their economics are focused on the long-haul business. So even if demand didn't meet expectations, we wouldn't expect it to have a material effect'. Perceptions around the rebuilt airline mattered too. This meant convincing future investors that Virgin had changed since its days of damaging price wars with Qantas. Going into administration had wiped out the value of Virgin debt securities listed on the ASX. There was a bit of a 'hurdle to overcome how this is a different business now', said one person involved in the IPO, who described it as the 'first challenge' in taking the deal to market. But the outlook for aviation since the end of lockdowns had transformed. Demand for travel appeared limitless. Investors were highly attracted to the industry structure and saw Virgin 'with strong and stable market share and an ability to increase margins over the next couple of years'. Emerson's jammed up meeting schedule ahead of the IPO – banks, unions and company staff – left little time for interviews. Given the restrictions around what can be said before a company lists, and his sudden appointment as chief executive, there was often little Emerson could say. The air of mystery contributed to the sense of anticipation about the reception a relisted Virgin would get from the public. Loading On a recent visit to Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine, a sampling of Virgin passengers voiced sentiments that were uncannily close to Virgin's identified target market. While a number of passengers' stories began with pledges to never fly Qantas again, business travellers this masthead spoke to were generally happy with Virgin. One said Virgin appeared more 'inventive' while Qantas was 'stale'. Another bristled at Qantas' welcome-to-country announcements. Andrew Mills, who months ago spent 30 hours trying to get back to Australia from New Zealand after a Qantas cancellation, said: 'I made the decision to fly only with Virgin, and it's been pretty promising to date. 'I would say 95 per cent of the flights that I've been on since then have been on time and able to allow me to get to my destination as expected.' In fact, in May, Virgin's on-time arrivals reached 84.8 per cent while Qantas' stood at 82.5 per cent, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics. One person with knowledge of the deal said Bain had done a 'pretty good job' of turning Virgin around, by finding a part of the market that avoids costly clashes with Qantas. Virgin 'should probably be able to earn increasing margins over time' by not, for example, competing directly for most international routes. Still, the aviation business is not an easy one to succeed at. There are high fixed costs, such as the price of maintaining fleets of jets, or fuel prices. Ticket prices are influenced not just by demand but costs which themselves are vulnerable to outside factors such as those on display this week between Iran and Israel. Chief executive of Moomoo Securities Australia Michael McCarthy said the fact that the prospectus offered no guidance after June 2025 was a 'possible red flag' from Virgin. 'If the people who run this business believe the future for Virgin is so uncertain that they cannot estimate even the next 12 months' earnings, how are investors supposed to make a decision?' In this way, the path of rival Qantas' stock functioned as a proxy for sentiment for the Australian aviation sector, including Virgin. Qantas' stock rose from about $5.78 a share on August 5, to more than $10.27 on June 20, on growing optimism for the outlook for aviation. Virgin was priced at a discount to Qantas, $2.90 a share, with the understanding that Virgin, while a competitor, remained the junior player. As June 24 approached, unwelcome clouds gathered. While markets had largely priced in the Middle East conflict, Iran and Israel began lobbing missiles at each in earnest only a week before. On Monday morning (AEST), Qatar, the home of Qatar Airways, closed its airspace in response to Iranian missile attacks, the very hub of the airline Virgin was now linked to. Emerson said the geopolitical tensions 'underscore' the advantages of being a 90 per cent domestic Australian airline. The local market had been incredibly resilient and, historically, demand had ridden right through geopolitical shocks, he said. Loading Still, Emerson has been peppered by questions about how the Middle East tensions would affect the IPO. Speaking before the stock relisted, Emerson noted: 'There's always the ability to amend the schedule down [the number of wet lease flights with Qatar] if we jointly decide that's in our interest. There's nothing in the agreement that requires us to fly all these flights forever.' When the day came, the sentiment was mixed. Headlines from the Middle East couldn't be worse, but the ASX 200 rallied on expectations that peace would prevail and oil prices fell. The Virgin IPO would be a test of the feeling around the Australian aviation industry. Was the glass half-full, or half-empty? A steady outlook or turbulence ahead? Share listed at $2.90 noon on the ASX. Then they rose. Virgin ticked up by days end to $3.23. They closed down at 2.2 per cent on Friday to $3.18. Loading A person with knowledge of the deal, said Bain was successful in part because it wasn't 'trying to sell too much' of the stock. 'They kept the shares scarce and the price was compelling.' Virgin also had a 'very clear competitor' in the form of Qantas, which also reassured investors looking to understand the metrics of the smaller airline's performance. Virgin's successful launch also signalled a market 'very open to IPOs now' which is, as one investor said, 'a relatively new thing'. Bain Capital veteran and Virgin director Mike Murphy rated the IPO the 'most complex Bain has ever done in Australia and among the most complex that even global Bain has done'. He thinks future competition with Qantas will be 'rational' but 'the Australian aviation market is extremely competitive and it is closely watched by the ACCC'. Even former Virgin chief executive Paul Scurrah called it 'a proud day for the team to see what we envisaged during the [2020] sale process come to fruition'. Asked if the IPO was the biggest undertaking of his career, Emerson said working with the team at Virgin had been 'the capstone of what has been 30 years in aviation, and I couldn't be more proud and excited about it'. One Virgin crew member with more than a decade's experience with the company noted that aviation was an 'inherently unstable industry'. Remembering back to 2020, when his former colleague Cassy Appleton posted her farewell video before Virgin essentially stopped flying, he said those videos were almost 'a form of grief'. Having said that, Virgin appeared much sounder on the day than the decade earlier when he began working for the company. 'To be completely honest,' he said, 'it is kind of surprising that we've gone from point A to point B and become relatively stable and quite profitable in such a short space of time.'

The Age

11 hours ago

The Age

Cassy's teary farewell to passengers went viral. Now her airline is back in the game

It was a memorable moment at the start of the pandemic. In late March 2020, Cassy Appleton, Virgin Australia crew supervisor, delivered a pre-landing safety message to passengers that she appended with a farewell speech for the airline's international operation. Choking back tears, Appleton thanked customers and praised colleagues. Epitomising the fear of the widening COVID-19 pandemic, Appleton's speech quickly went viral. For Virgin Australia, the unknowns at the time were arguably more profound. Within weeks of the speech, the company – once a domestic competitor for Qantas, the only one – would be in voluntary administration, delisted from the ASX, later sold to US-based private equity group Bain Capital. On Tuesday, Virgin, reorganised, under new management, backed now by a Middle Eastern aviation behemoth, took the leap and returned to the Australian Securities Exchange, a viable, listed competitor to Qantas. Virgin has come full circle, in the process facing down reluctant regulators, unions and global uncertainty spurred by US President Donald Trump's trade wars – as well as hot wars in the Middle East. 'We're very proud of the product and service that we put out there,' chief executive Dave Emerson said. 'We provide strong competition and great value and service for Australian consumers'. Yet, the timing of Virgin's IPO only became a certainty a few months ago, after a number of conditions fell into place: the new chief executive, restored investor interest, the support of its largest union, the backing of stakeholder Qatar, Virgin's new strategy to be a simpler, more focused airline, and, ironically, the strength of Qantas' share price helping showcase domestic appetite for aviation stocks. Emerson took the role of chief executive in March, the same month the government approved Qatar Airways to take a share of Virgin and to participate in the 'wet-lease' agreement that allowed the Doha-based airline to increase the number of flights from Australia by 28 a week. The government had denied Qatar Airways' application for additional flights in 2023, citing elusive reasons of 'national interest'. Transport Minister Catherine King's inability to explain the basis of the government's rationale prompted a Senate inquiry which examined Qantas' potential influence on the government's ruling. Speaking this week before Virgin listed, Emerson reflected: '[It] was pretty difficult for us to go to market when there was uncertainty about whether that deal would be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board. I think that that was the key trigger of us then being able to start to market the company.' Virgin's reliance on the government's approval of Qatar's participation was ironic, given the government's unwillingness to bail Virgin out during its 2020 fall. It was out of this dark period for aviation that Qantas laid off 1800 staff illegally, creating the industry backdrop from which Virgin would rise. 'It's a brutal industry, and Qantas has been a brutal player in that industry,' said Emily McMillan, national assistant secretary of the Transport Workers Union, which is the largest representative of Virgin employees. Loading The union was relieved when Virgin ended speculation and said its chief customer and digital officer, Paul Jones, who had earlier been involved in Qantas' industrial relations, would not replace outgoing boss Jayne Hrdlicka as chief executive. TWU's McMillan said: 'We're pleased that Virgin have made key choices in these last five years as they've navigated through this process to work with its workforce in a different way.' Ruling out Jones, who replaced Emerson as Virgin's chief commercial officer, paved the way for Emerson – one of the least known personalities in Australian aviation – to be named chief of the airline. Emerson was part of the Bain Capital team looking over the restructuring of the troubled airline that the US private equity group took control of in 2020. Father of four sons, a sometime reader of sci-fi (John Scalzi and Martha Wells) and author Michael Lewis, and a somewhat reluctant pickleball player, Emerson brought years of experience in aviation consulting from Bain & Company, where his predecessor Jayne Hrdlicka had once worked. Loading As the pandemic hit, Emerson and his wife had already been looking for an overseas posting. He said he had just dropped his youngest son off at university, before heading to the plane to come to Australia, a place that is the 'opposite of a hardship posting'. However, given the time, Emerson's first impression of the country was limited to the walls of a Marriott hotel room where he stayed upon COVID quarantine. Bain had named Reunion Capital as the independent adviser in 2023, which then appointed Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barrenjoey as book builders of the deal. Emerson's appointment in March signalled the start of the IPO process. Once Bain decided to launch, brokers and investors moved quickly to secure significant volumes of investor demand. On his first day on the job, Emerson met investors, as well as staff in Brisbane and Sydney, going on a tour of Virgin's front-line staff that would take him to Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide. Importantly, he met the union. 'We met with Dave Emerson on the first day of his job,' said TWU's McMillan, 'which we thought was a really positive sign of working collaboratively with the workforce.' Loading Emerson was to simplify the business, pivoting away from the complexity that helped expose it to loss before 2020. The plan was also to be focused on areas where Virgin could compete effectively. 'We want to win in the segment of the market that we've chosen to serve, the value segment,' Emerson said. That didn't mean unlimited, unchecked competition against larger rival Qantas, which helped drive Virgin towards unsustainable debt levels before 2020. Rather, Virgin would compete for premium leisure, small and medium business customers and value-minded corporate customers. 'We have a lot of respect for Qantas,' said Emerson, who notes that Qantas does a good job serving its core customer segments. 'That's one of the reasons that we chose the business model that, we thought, was built around segments that aren't as well served in their existing ... model.' Qatar Airways' participation would help. Virgin operates a simplified fleet of 100 mostly 737s domestically and in overseas destinations such as Fiji, Bali and Vanuatu. Under the 'wet-lease agreement' with Qatar, Virgin could 'carefully re-enter' long-haul travel while sidestepping the complex planning and operations it demands. (Under the deal, Qatar will provide the planes and crew for flights sold by Virgin.) From Qatar, Virgin gets commissions on flights sold, more users of its Velocity loyalty program, and, with more people flying into Australia, more traffic into Virgin's domestic lines. That's all good as long as international travel holds up, which is no certainty in a time of war in the Middle East and Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariff announcements. Emerson said: 'The way our partnership with Qatar is structured, our economics are focused on the domestic business, and their economics are focused on the long-haul business. So even if demand didn't meet expectations, we wouldn't expect it to have a material effect'. Perceptions around the rebuilt airline mattered too. This meant convincing future investors that Virgin had changed since its days of damaging price wars with Qantas. Going into administration had wiped out the value of Virgin debt securities listed on the ASX. There was a bit of a 'hurdle to overcome how this is a different business now', said one person involved in the IPO, who described it as the 'first challenge' in taking the deal to market. But the outlook for aviation since the end of lockdowns had transformed. Demand for travel appeared limitless. Investors were highly attracted to the industry structure and saw Virgin 'with strong and stable market share and an ability to increase margins over the next couple of years'. Emerson's jammed up meeting schedule ahead of the IPO – banks, unions and company staff – left little time for interviews. Given the restrictions around what can be said before a company lists, and his sudden appointment as chief executive, there was often little Emerson could say. The air of mystery contributed to the sense of anticipation about the reception a relisted Virgin would get from the public. Loading On a recent visit to Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine, a sampling of Virgin passengers voiced sentiments that were uncannily close to Virgin's identified target market. While a number of passengers' stories began with pledges to never fly Qantas again, business travellers this masthead spoke to were generally happy with Virgin. One said Virgin appeared more 'inventive' while Qantas was 'stale'. Another bristled at Qantas' welcome-to-country announcements. Andrew Mills, who months ago spent 30 hours trying to get back to Australia from New Zealand after a Qantas cancellation, said: 'I made the decision to fly only with Virgin, and it's been pretty promising to date. 'I would say 95 per cent of the flights that I've been on since then have been on time and able to allow me to get to my destination as expected.' In fact, in May, Virgin's on-time arrivals reached 84.8 per cent while Qantas' stood at 82.5 per cent, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics. One person with knowledge of the deal said Bain had done a 'pretty good job' of turning Virgin around, by finding a part of the market that avoids costly clashes with Qantas. Virgin 'should probably be able to earn increasing margins over time' by not, for example, competing directly for most international routes. Still, the aviation business is not an easy one to succeed at. There are high fixed costs, such as the price of maintaining fleets of jets, or fuel prices. Ticket prices are influenced not just by demand but costs which themselves are vulnerable to outside factors such as those on display this week between Iran and Israel. Chief executive of Moomoo Securities Australia Michael McCarthy said the fact that the prospectus offered no guidance after June 2025 was a 'possible red flag' from Virgin. 'If the people who run this business believe the future for Virgin is so uncertain that they cannot estimate even the next 12 months' earnings, how are investors supposed to make a decision?' In this way, the path of rival Qantas' stock functioned as a proxy for sentiment for the Australian aviation sector, including Virgin. Qantas' stock rose from about $5.78 a share on August 5, to more than $10.27 on June 20, on growing optimism for the outlook for aviation. Virgin was priced at a discount to Qantas, $2.90 a share, with the understanding that Virgin, while a competitor, remained the junior player. As June 24 approached, unwelcome clouds gathered. While markets had largely priced in the Middle East conflict, Iran and Israel began lobbing missiles at each in earnest only a week before. On Monday morning (AEST), Qatar, the home of Qatar Airways, closed its airspace in response to Iranian missile attacks, the very hub of the airline Virgin was now linked to. Emerson said the geopolitical tensions 'underscore' the advantages of being a 90 per cent domestic Australian airline. The local market had been incredibly resilient and, historically, demand had ridden right through geopolitical shocks, he said. Loading Still, Emerson has been peppered by questions about how the Middle East tensions would affect the IPO. Speaking before the stock relisted, Emerson noted: 'There's always the ability to amend the schedule down [the number of wet lease flights with Qatar] if we jointly decide that's in our interest. There's nothing in the agreement that requires us to fly all these flights forever.' When the day came, the sentiment was mixed. Headlines from the Middle East couldn't be worse, but the ASX 200 rallied on expectations that peace would prevail and oil prices fell. The Virgin IPO would be a test of the feeling around the Australian aviation industry. Was the glass half-full, or half-empty? A steady outlook or turbulence ahead? Share listed at $2.90 noon on the ASX. Then they rose. Virgin ticked up by days end to $3.23. They closed down at 2.2 per cent on Friday to $3.18. Loading A person with knowledge of the deal, said Bain was successful in part because it wasn't 'trying to sell too much' of the stock. 'They kept the shares scarce and the price was compelling.' Virgin also had a 'very clear competitor' in the form of Qantas, which also reassured investors looking to understand the metrics of the smaller airline's performance. Virgin's successful launch also signalled a market 'very open to IPOs now' which is, as one investor said, 'a relatively new thing'. Bain Capital veteran and Virgin director Mike Murphy rated the IPO the 'most complex Bain has ever done in Australia and among the most complex that even global Bain has done'. He thinks future competition with Qantas will be 'rational' but 'the Australian aviation market is extremely competitive and it is closely watched by the ACCC'. Even former Virgin chief executive Paul Scurrah called it 'a proud day for the team to see what we envisaged during the [2020] sale process come to fruition'. Asked if the IPO was the biggest undertaking of his career, Emerson said working with the team at Virgin had been 'the capstone of what has been 30 years in aviation, and I couldn't be more proud and excited about it'. One Virgin crew member with more than a decade's experience with the company noted that aviation was an 'inherently unstable industry'. Remembering back to 2020, when his former colleague Cassy Appleton posted her farewell video before Virgin essentially stopped flying, he said those videos were almost 'a form of grief'. Having said that, Virgin appeared much sounder on the day than the decade earlier when he began working for the company. 'To be completely honest,' he said, 'it is kind of surprising that we've gone from point A to point B and become relatively stable and quite profitable in such a short space of time.'

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