| Ron Brierley | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 2, 1937 Wellington, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Chairman and Director of several companies |
| Known for | Investing Corporate Raiding |
Sir Ronald Alfred "Ron" Brierley (born 2 August 1937) is a New Zealand investor and corporate raider, chairman and director of a number of companies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.[1] He founded "R. A. Brierley Investments" (BIL; from October 2007 GuocoLeisure [2]) in March 1961 with no capital. By 1984 BIL was the largest company in New Zealand by market capitalization, and in 1987 had 160,000 shareholders, with a stake in over 300 companies, including Paris department store Galleries Lafayette and Air New Zealand.[3][4]
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Brierley was born in Wellington during 1937 to middle class parents. He went to primary school at Island Bay School,[5] and Wellington College high school.[6] At high school he joined the New Stamp Dealers Federation, and began his first business venture selling stamps to students and staff.[7] Brierley is a fan of cricket, being a Trustee of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust 1988-96, and President of New Zealand Cricket in 1995.[4] He also likes travelling by train.[8] He was knighted on 18 May 1988.[9]
During the 1950s, Brierley was as a clerk at the Sun Alliance Company, and dropped out of part-time accountancy study at Victoria University of Wellington after a short time. In 1956 he created a sharemarket tip sheet “New Zealand Stocks and Shares”, which he delivered unsolicited to all listed New Zealand companies. Subsequently he billed the companies for the sheet, most of whom paid. "Investment Funds New Zealand" was Brierley’s first investment company, started in 1959. He unsuccessfully attempted to get elected to the board of Hallensteins when just 23.[7]
Brierley founded BIL in 1961 with the mission to acquire significant shareholdings in Australia and New Zealand listed companies, seeking companies with a low share price but high assets. The company initially struggled for success despite exaggerated advertising. In 1964 BIL purchased a share in the Australian company Industrial Equity, which subsequently became BIL’s investment vehicle there.
In the 1970s the company grew, much as a result of Brierley’s detailed and extensive market research, and by 1981 was one of the 20 largest companies in New Zealand by market capitalisation. After the sharemarket crash of 1987, the company focused on a smaller number of assets. In 1977-78 along with Ravensdown Fertiliser it took over Kempthorne Prosser Limited, New Zealand's largest drug and fertiliser company removing it from the market.
Brierley’s first acquisition in contential Europe came in 1988, by buying stakes in three French department stores.[10]
During the technology boom of the 1990s, Brierley kept away from technology companies, instead concentrating on financial and industrial companies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.[11]
Brierley withdrew from direct involvement in 1990 and become founder president; in 2001 he retired from the company, on the 40th anniversary.[3]
On 29 March 1990 Brierley was appointed chairman of investment holding company Guinness Peat Group (GPG). As chairman Brierley publicly attacked and successfully defeated the plan to merge the London Stock Exchange with Deutsche Börse in 2001.[12]