Black day for Dews's colour taste

WE nearly fell off our chairs when we heard that Nigel Dews had changed his favourite colour from red to black.

After all, the Hutchison Telecoms boss has reported an, ahem, 750 per cent increase in profit.

A remarkable performance given comparable moves in the sharemarket. In fact, on the face of it, Dews turned a $550 million profit. Yes, profit.

After years turning losses at Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's plaything Down Under, we figured Dews just liked painting the town red.

But then we remembered Dews had become the beneficiary of a rather tidy earnings stream following the tie-up between Hutchison and Vodafone Australia this year.

We suspect that without the tie-up there would have been a touch more red ink.

Kiwi circles

Wanna catch up for lunch, eh, Bro?

We suspect Sydney's Kiwi business community will be out in force to welcome newish Prime Minister John Lock'n'key when he fronts a Trans-Tasman Business Circle luncheon this month.

Key will give his first major speech in Sydney since he was elected Kiwi PM last year.

The former Merrill Lunch forex chief is expected to yabber a bit about his vision for growth strategies of New Zealand.

But it got us thinking about setting up a checklist for local biz bods who might show up to break bread.

Perhaps Sir Ralph might show up, along with a good deal of the Commonwealth Bank of Auckland (as it's privately known), such as his head of retail banking Ross McEwan.

And what about the new executive chairman of Hoyts, David Kirk, or Telstra's boss, David "I was born in Perth" Thodey. NAB's chief teller, Cameron Clyne, might spend his one day a week in Sydney at lunch feeling right at home, having done a stint at the bank's Kiwi operations. Westpac's Brad "not that one" Cooper would be a chance of remembering the accent, too.

And how could we forget Sir Ron Brierley?

And while he might not be a bro, we suspect that Greg Bundy might be a good chance to show up, given he was the thundering herd's former Aussie boss.

Still, we suspect the boss of Telecom NZ, Paul Reynolds, might feel a bit peeved. The PM will be upstaging his results. Then again, he's a Scot.

Wine tinklers

The sun may not have been shining but the wine was flowing freely at Aria yesterday when some of the wine industry's luminaries got together to taste each other's wares and view home videos.

Those lucky enough to spend the afternoon clinking glasses, ranging from chardonnay to shiraz and muscat, and gossiping about the latest vineyard sales included Ross Brown of Brown Brothers, Chester Osborn of d'Arenberg, Prue Henschke of Henschke, Peter Barry of Jim Barry, Mitchell Taylor of Taylor's and Alister Purbrick of Tahbilk.

Notably absent were the folks from bigger wine corporations like Foster's Group and Constellation Brands. But then the lunch was deemed a "family" affair.

The group is expected to gather again in Sydney with a few more friends in tow for an event at the Opera House on August 31.

Cool gardens

Good to see that weeding, pruning and dead-wooding is not only happening on company boards these days.

While the high-profile corporate remuneration adviser John Egan is quick to point out his "over three decades' experience" as an executive pay expert on his company's website, we were intrigued to find out that pay cheques aren't everything.

That is, if you have a passion for cool climate horticulture.

Turns out Egan's family company, Bennelong Resources, owns the Braes Garden in Leura, one of the largest private gardens in the Blue Mountains.

"Brae" is the Scottish word for slope, or hill, its website says. The garden features "two flowing creeks and distant escarpment vistas and provides an example of a European-inspired landscape wedged between urban, semi-rural and wild native bushland".

Egan bought the two-hectare property in 1996, hiring horticulturalists and arborists to restore its neglected pathways, trees, rhododendrons, bulbs and kitchen garden. They have been engaged to "ensure that the work meets the highest standards", the site says.

Suddenly gardening leave takes a whole new meaning.

Observe the beatings

For a cool $20 million, the observation deck of the Q1 tower on the Gold Coast, owned by Sunleisure, a subsidiary of Octaviar (formerly known as MFS), could be yours.

What better way to get a 360-degree view of the spot where the country's real estate market has taken an absolute beating.

Maybe its got something to do with building a 322.5-metre high (78-storey) skyscraper at the height of a property boom.

One can't knock the banana benders for their enthusiasm when it comes to building big things at over-inflated prices. It also helps to have some friendly bankers just up the road in Brisbane.

Ernst & Young, as receivers of Sunleisure, say they have already received interest from local and international parties.

We bet they have, no doubt all offering much lower prices for what the receivers reckon is an "iconic Australian tourism asset".

Maybe it's got something to do with Sigmund Freud and big towers and wanting to look down on the competitors. Enough to give a former MFS investor vertigo.

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