| Terry Serepisos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eleftherios Serepisos [1] 1963 (age 48–49) Greece |
| Nationality | New Zealander Greek |
| Known for | Property development Wellington Phoenix The Apprentice New Zealand |
Terry Serepisos (born 1963) is a bankrupt Wellington-based property developer and former owner of A-League association football club Wellington Phoenix. In 2010 he was the host in the New Zealand incarnation of the hit TV series The Apprentice.
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Born in Greece, Terry Serepisos and his family emigrated to New Zealand when he was two years old. Serepisos attended Rongotai College with All Whites legend Wynton Rufer.[2]
Serepisos made his name in property development. His Century City group managed a portfolio of properties in the greater Wellington area including commercial buildings, high-end inner city apartments, retail spaces and residential homes.
He has invested in, and developed, a number of Wellington landmark sites. These include the former Bank of New Zealand (Manners Street), Maison Cabriole (Tory Street), National Bank Building (Courtenay Place), Prudential Building (Lambton Quay), Century City Tower (former World Trade Centre, Victoria Street), Lone Star Building (Tory Street), Century City Carpark Building (Tory Street), and IBM Building (The Esplanade, Petone).
On 19 March 2007 it was announced that New Zealand Football would be entering a new Wellington-based team into the Hyundai A-League and that Serepisos would be providing the one million dollars (NZD) start-up capital and be the club's sole owner. [1] In the first season of the club, Serepisos played a key role in getting English footballer David Beckham and his Los Angeles Galaxy team to play an exhibition game against the Wellington club. In 2007 Serepisos was the recipient of the Mercure Wellington Sports Personality of the Year award for his contribution to sport in Wellington in the year that had passed.[3]
Many New Zealand football fans believe that it was Serepisos' actions that helped get the New Zealand national football team into the 2010 World Cup. Serepisos has been open to agree with the argument "They say I'm the saviour of football in this country. Well, they're right."[2]
On 23 September 2011, it was announced that Terry had relinquished ownership of the club after ongoing personal financial difficulties. Subsequently a new consortium of 7 Wellington businessman headed by Rob Morrison took control of the club.[4] He was declared bankrupt the following Monday.[5]
In 2010 Serepisos featured in the 13 week first series of The Apprentice New Zealand as the master to the would-be apprentices. The show aired in New Zealand on TV One. Thomas Ben won and was awarded a $200,000 employment deal working with Serepisos.[6][7]
After revelations that unpaid ACC debts could lead to the liquidation of his football club,[8][9] it was revealed that Serepisos also owed $1.4 million in unpaid rates and ground leases to the Wellington City Council.[10] On 26 September 2011 he was declared bankrupt at the Wellington High Court.[5]