The Ray White real estate franchise for the key Gold Coast market of Broadbeach has been put up for sale, after being placed in the hands of receivers late last year.
Receivers Graham Killer and Michael McCann of Grant Thornton have offered the business for sale after their appointment by the National Australia Bank.
The agency has a reported $450 million worth of current listings and earned $11 million in revenue last year from its sales and rental divisions.
However, aggressive expansion plans put in place by the franchise’s owner Garry Gannon, and the sharp slump in the Gold Coast property market, put the company in difficulty.
This difficult state of the market was demonstrated by the Broadbeach’s franchise recent “blockbuster” property sale, where 70 properties were offered at one auction event in January. Just 15 sold under the hammer, with another three selling after the event.
Gannon’s affairs have also been complicated by a long-running legal battle with Gold Coast businessman Rod Lambert, who has alleged a sales person at the Broadbeach agency misled him over sales commissions in an $11 million real estate deal on the Gold Coast’s glitzy Hedges Avenue strip.
In September, Lambert lodged a complaint about the incident with Queensland’s Crime and Misconduct Commission. Gannon and Ray White have strenuously denied all allegations.
Ray White Queensland chief executive Peter Camphin told the Gold Coast Bulletin last week that there has been strong interest in the business.
“Ray White Broadbeach is a really profitable, strong business.”
“It’s not in receivership because of Ray White Broadbeach. It’s in receivership because of expansion and business entities that Gary went into in other areas.”
The office has continued to operate as usual and Gannon is working with the receivers.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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