Hanover Holdings
| Formerly | Allans Finance Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Industry | Realestate |
| Founded | 20 May 1969 |
| Defunct | 1977 |
| Fate | Privatised, assets split up |
Key people | Maurice Alter Paul Fayman George Herscu J. H. Conyers Fredrick George Dodd Gavin Thompson Conole Eustace Alwynne Rowland A. Block J. F. Hemphill |
| Subsidiaries | Alter Nominees Brigalow Nominees Forest Hill Heights Hanover Homes Hanover Retailers Herscu Nominees HSP Nominees Landall Holdings Land Sales & Development Masaga Investments Montvale Developments Murrajong Nominees Span Investments Whitehorse Freeholds |
Hanover Holdings Ltd. was an Australian holdings company jointly controlled by property developers Paul Fayman, Maurice Alter and George Herscu.
When Maurice Alter and George Herscu were inspecting shops at Paul Fayman's recently-extended Forest Hill Shopping Centre in 1968, Herscu suddenly blurted out "Why just buy the shops? I want to buy the whole centre."[1] The three men partnered up and reached an agreement; in March 1969, they bought about 70% of Allans Finance Ltd; a publicly listed hire-purchase subsidiary of Allan & Co.[2]
Allans Finance was renamed to Hanover Holdings on 20th May 1969, and the company's operations were shifted to focus solely on property development.[3] Hanover and its companies rode the crest of the property boom, boosting profits from $67,000 in 1969 to a peak of $1.8 million in 1973. The bubble burst in 1974 and profits plunged to $631,000.[4]
A merchant banker who had dealings with Hanover said: "With egos like that they could never work as a team. Fayman thought he was the most cultural. Alter thought he was smarter and wiser. Herscu thought he had more balls than everyone else, and in a way he was right, if having balls means rushing into things without thinking them through."
Much to the outrage of the minority shareholders, Fayman, Herscu and Alter privatised Hanover in 1976, making an offer for the shares which turned out to be considerably below the real value of its assets. There was a revaluation, and Herscu walked away with $106 million worth of property, which became the foundation of his fortune.[5]
Key people
[edit]Paul Fayman
[edit]Pinchas Ben Shmuel Zev (Hebrew: פנחס בן שמואל זב), known professionally as Paul Fayman, was a wealthy property developer in the Melbourne area. Born in 1911 at Sosonowiec, Poland, he immigrated to Preston, Melbourne in 1952 and found success trading with Max Siegal as a wholesale butcher before getting into the realestate business.[6] Prior to his involvement with Hanover Holdings, Fayman's projects included the Forest Hill Shopping Centre and adjacent Forest Hill Heights housing estate (1956-64),[7][8] the Borrack Square Shopping Centre and Central Hotel at Altona North (1959-61),[9][10] the Monash Hotel at Clayton (1959-63),[11] the Amstel Park estate in Glen Waverley (1964), Burwood Rise - the first housing estate in Vermont South (1968)[12] and a complex of 15-factory at North Melbourne (1968).[13]
George Herscu & Maurice Alter
[edit]Israel Ben Jacob (Hebrew: ישראל בן יעקב), known professionally as George Herscu, was born in Poland in 1928. After surviving The Holocaust, Herscu was dispatched to the Bonegilla Migrant Camp, cooking and cleaning shoes on the ship on the way to Australia. He then went to Hobart, where he got a job as a store man for A. V Jennings. He later opened a milk bar in of Yarraville, which he bought with a Czechoslovakian migrant whom he met in a gymnasium. They did the place up, sold it for a profit, and bought another one... and another... and another. "I know a good business- I can smell it," Herscu skited. In 1964, Herscu teamed up with Polish developer and Holocaust survivor Maurice Alter (born c. 1925-26). Together they developed and leased countless stores across the Victoria.[5]
Secretaries
[edit]- J. H. Conyers (1969-70)[14]
Chairmen
[edit]Developments and assets
[edit]Hanover and it's subsidiaries built and/or owned hundreds of commercial/industrial buildings and residential estates across Australia, including:
- Leviathan Building at 271-281 Bourke Street (acquired from UWM Corporation in 1969, retained by Paul Fayman & family until 1988)[19]
- Forest Hill Chase at Mahoneys Road, Forest Hill (redevelopments between 1969-77, retained by Maurice Alter until 2004)[20]
- Hanover Arcade at Walker Street, Dandenong (developed 1970)[21]
- 288 Queen Street, Melbourne (purchased from MGM for $385,000 around 1971)[22]
- 168 Exhibition Street, Melbourne (developed 1972 for State Trustees)[22]
- Centrepoint Shopping Centre at 289 Bourke Street, Melbourne (site purchased c. 1971, retained by Paul Fayman & family until 1988)[19]
- Hanover House at 158 City Road, Southbank (the tallest building in Southbank between 1973 and 1990)[23]
- Former Repco International Offices at 112 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne (developed c. 1972-73)
- Dandenong Hub Arcade at Langhorne Street, Dandenong (developed 1974, later acquired by Local Authorities Superannuation Board)[20]
- Vermont South Shopping Centre at Hanover Road, Vermont South (developed 1974, retained by Maurice Alter until early 1980s)[24]
- 518-520 Collins Street, Melbourne (developed 1975, retained by George Herscu until 1989)[25][22]
- Diamond Village Shopping Centre at Nepean Street, Watsonia (developed 1974)[20]
- Churinga Shopping Centre at Mount Dandenong Road, Kilsyth (developed 1975)[20]
- North Croydon Shopping Plaza (developed 1975)[20]
- Tunstall Square Shopping Centre, Doncaster East (redevelopments between 1975-77)[20]
- Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre, Mulgrave (developed 1977)[20]
References
[edit]- ^ Hills, Ben (7 December 1990). "House of cards: Herscu's making ... and breaking". The Age. p. 6.
- ^ "Hanover plans move to property". The Age. 23 April 1969. p. 20.
- ^ Finance and Business: From today Allans Finance Ltd. will be known as Hanover Holdings Ltd. The Age. 20 May 1969. p. 18.
- ^ McDougall, Graeme (26 November 1975). "Hanover gets inside offer". The Age. p. 21.
- ^ a b Hills, Ben (8 December 1990). "From billionaire to Boggo Road". The Age. p. 16.
- ^ "Two Butchers Fined £80 for Excess Prices". The Age. 12 May 1954. p. 5.
- ^ "Shopping centre". Herald. 19 July 1957. p. 13.
- ^ "Model of New Shopping Centre Excites Interest". The Age. 27 May 1959. p. 15.
- ^ "Altona schemes to be discussed". The Age. 30 May 1958. p. 3.
- ^ "Altona to get its first hotel". The Age. 21 May 1959. p. 10.
- ^ "Licensing acts: Notice of application for a victualers license for premises to be erected at Clayton". The Age. 23 January 1960. p. 63.
- ^ Davie, Ray (21 November 1968). "Shop centre buys 80 acres for housing". The Age. p. 13.
- ^ Davie, Ray (7 August 1968). "15 factories". The Age. p. 25.
- ^ a b "Mr F. J. Dodd has been appointed secretary of Hanover Holdings followings the resignation of Mr. J. H. Conyers". The Age. 5 September 1970. p. 18.
- ^ "New secretary for Hanover". The Age. 4 April 1974. p. 18.
- ^ "Lord Mayor: overhaul Local Government Act". The Age. 24 November 1972. p. 4.
- ^ "Mr. A. Block has been appointed acting chairman of Hanover Holdings and its subsidaries following the resignation of Mr. E. A. Rowlands, Lord Mayor of Melbourne". The Age. 7 October 1971. p. 16.
- ^ "Hanover buys control of Landall". The Age. 6 April 1974. p. 19.
- ^ a b "The Fayman Familu". Australian Financial Review. 6 April 1990.
- ^ a b c d e f g Directory of Australian Shopping Centres. National Council of Shopping Centres. November 1980.
- ^ "Hanover Holdings, City of Dandenong, Commercial Properties To Lease, Hanover Arcade". The Age. 4 April 1970. p. 45.
- ^ a b c Mitchell, John (19 April 1972). "Hanover buys city store". The Age. p. 17.
- ^ Mitchell, John (11 April 1973). "Not only developers but tenants, too". The Age. p. 23.
- ^ "Hanover Holdings Burwood Shoppingtown". The Age. 26 June 1973. p. 41.
- ^ "For sale by tender, the best address next to the new Stock Exchange, 520 Collins Street, Melbourne". The Age. 14 November 1989. p. 33.