Hope that site on the cnr of Bourke and Collins now gets sold and developed.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,9306526%255E1702,00.html

Receivers for Nauru House

17apr04

THE financial crisis facing Nauru has deepened with receivers moving into Melbourne's Nauru House and other Australian properties owned by the Pacific island's administration.

American financial giant General Electric Capital Corporation (GE) is seeking to recover debts after the tiny republic failed to pay back more than $230 million borrowed in relation to its offshore properties.
Nauru's Australian spokeswoman Helen Bogden said receivers were appointed to the Nauru House Property Trust at 4pm yesterday (AEST).

She said the trust included Melbourne's Collins Street high rise Nauru House, Sydney's Mercure Hotel and Royal Randwick Shopping Centre and the Downtowner and Savoy Park Plaza hotels in Melbourne.

She said GE had lent money to the trust in relation to the properties and was seeking to have it recovered.









"There are still negotiations going on between the Nauru government and the receivers; until Monday we won't have any further details," Ms Bogden said.

She said Nauru's President Rene Harris was in Australia to deal with the issue and was scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Monday.

She would not say whether Mr Harris would use the meeting to ask the Australian government for financial assistance.

Australia has an understanding with Nauru which allows asylum seekers to be processed on the Pacific Island and last month Mr Downer said Australia would provide Nauru with $22.5 million to help stabilise the country's economy and strengthen law and order.

But a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman yesterday said the GE issue was a commercial one and not for the Australian government to resolve.

"The Australian government has consistently told Nauru that sound economic management and good governance is essential," she said.

"Our agreement to provide a finance secretary and Australian officials with a new memorandum of understanding is geared to addressing precisely these sort of financial management issues.

"Australia has no role to play in GE's commercial decisions.

"We provide a substantial amount of development assistance through the memorandum of understanding governing cooperation on the offshore processing centre with $22.5 million provided up to June 2005."

GE.... please please please take the Savoy site off their hands PLEASE!!!!!!!

http://metropolis.tayser.net/renderings/120632.jpg

think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts :)

I love that tower design, would this be as tall as Melb central do you think?

No, it's 179m tall (MC = 211m)

http://extranet.emporis.com/wm/bu/?l=3&id=101893

cheers

I wonder if it would still be called Nauru house... I doubt it...But what else would you call it?

You could name it MLC building (little brother). Since both buildings look very much the same.

Octagonal House? "Ninety on Collins"? Col-Exi Place? 1 Collins Square? Australian Industrial Relations Tribunal Plaza? DOI House? City Central Tower (OzScrapers' favourite Vic.Gov department :D)? lol - the mind boggles ;)

the poor Nauruans might lose their penthouse apartments in it!! (Nauruan Consulate general's also right up there)

...yes there's a penthouse 180m above Collins Street, imagine how much that would sell for ;)

I love this shot (from the building's site) www.nauruhouse.com

[http://www.nauruhouse.com/images/bpro1big.jpg

From The Age Today:

"Nauru's Australian spokeswoman, Helen Bogden, said receivers were appointed to the Nauru House Property Trust at 4pm on Friday.

She said the trust included Melbourne's Collins Street high-rise Nauru House, Sydney's Mercure Hotel and Royal Randwick Shopping Centre, and the Downtowner and Savoy Park Plaza hotels in Melbourne."

At last!

Perhaps Nauru spent to much on a GE Buyers Edge card. Surely they could of afforded the easy installments back! I believe the Commonweath of Australia will step in.

I once waved to Nauruans staying in that penthouse, when I was staying in the top floor of the Sofitel (which is at the same level). They waved back and then my ex girlfriend flashed them. She always was a strange one.... hehe

[QUOTE=barneybuck]Hope that site on the cnr of Bourke and Collins now gets sold and developed.

Barneybuck, cnr Bourke and Collins? I'm sure you mean cnr Bourke and Spencer.
All I'm interested in, is that the holes in the Collins Street streetscape which give Nauru House its Collins Street address get filled in as soon as possible.
There is nothing wrong with an Exhibition Street address nowadays. :)

________________________________________________________________
I collect, therefore I am. :cool:

^^ yeah, I'm with you on that one.

silvermb / grollo: can you re-post the Nauru Forecourt plans / renders if possible please?

cheers

http://afr.com/premium/articles/2004/06/20/1087669845866.html [Premium]

First Nauru Trust Sale

Ben Wilmot

The receivers of the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust have sold the Mercure Hotel on Broadway in Sydney for $80.5 million to the Schwartz family after a last minute legal challenge to the sale.

Sources close to the trust said the net price was about $78.3 million, taking into account a clawback arrangement with the hotel manager, Accor.

The hotel was one of five Nauruan-owned properties in Sydney and Melbourne to which PPB has been appointed receivers for by GE Capital, which is owed about $239 million. The 517 room 3 1/2 star hotel was the first Nauruan property to be sold.

Interests associated with Business Australia Capital Finance, believed to hold second mortgages on some of Nauru's property portfolio, took legal action on Thursday to prevent the sale but were unsuccessful. Hiranandani Corporation Worldwide, a company associated with Singapore's Royal Brothers, also had a caveat on the site but did not take legal action, suggesting its rescue plan for Nauru will not go ahead.

The joint receiver of Ronsi, Mark Robinson of PPB, said that the sale proceeds will go to GE Capital. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels acted for the receiver in the deal.

Mr Robinson said it showed the market that it was proceeding with the normal course of a receivership.

"We have four more properties to approve for sale," he said.

An expression of interest campaign on the Royal Randwick Shopping Centre closes on July 8 and is expected to bring about $75 million.

Mr Robinson said submissions had also been received from agents on the Savoy hotel in Melbourne, which has a value of more than $40 million. He said agents were yet to be appointed to sell the Downtowner hotel in Melbourne expected to reap about $12 million.

"We are selling them for good value and reducing the claim of the appointor with the sale process," he said.

Mr Robinson said the sales were "just business as usual" and the receiver was yet to receive any properly constituted refinancing proposals.

Nauru's main property portfolio is worth $300 million at book but it owes $240 million to GE Capital.

:)

Sad for the average Nauruan.

Latest news hot off the wires today.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/07/1089000212267.html

Nauru fights to save its assets
July 7, 2004 - 3:29PM

The Nauruan government is seeking to save the nation from financial oblivion and preserve its Australian headquarters in Melbourne by selling its remaining properties.

But it will also take legal action against the receivers for its property interests to force them into talks with a potential financial saviour for the tiny Pacific nation.

Nauru is in financial crisis as receivers, chartered accountants PPB, seek to recover a $230 million debt on behalf of the General Electric Capital Corporation (GE).

The republic hoped to settle with GE by allowing the sale of other properties held by the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust (NPRT) to save the Nauru House tower in Collins Street, Melbourne.

Vital Nauru government services and phosphate interests will be forced from Nauru House by Friday, after PPB served eviction notices on June 25.

The evictions will cripple the government and the phosphate industry, virtually Nauru's only income.

President Ludwig Scotty, who came to power on June 22, said in a statement on Wednesday that Nauru House must not be lost in a fire sale of assets.

"Nauru House is considered to be an essential asset of the Republic of Nauru," he said.

"On the basis of the sale of other properties in the Nauru portfolio, there would remain surplus funds to repay GE.

"There would remain sufficient equity to allow Nauru House to be refinanced."

In January 1999, the Nauru government borrowed $230 million from GE.

NPRT chairman Fabian Ribauw (Ribauw) said Nauru had not missed a payment.

However, the previous government had failed to refinance the loan and a kicker clause worth 20 per cent of the value of NPRT's property portfolio when it came due in January.

The government was granted a four month extension but, when it failed to refinance, PPB took control of the portfolio.

The Nauru Phosphate Corporation, which sells Nauru's phosphate, the Nauru Corporation, which buys Nauru's food and consumer goods, other government services and the nation's airline, Air Nauru, were evicted on July 2.

Air Nauru has sought an injunction in the NSW Supreme Court to delay its eviction until it can find new offices.

Other offices, including NPRT and the consul-general, will be evicted on Friday.

The Nauru government has a letter of offer to refinance with British business financier Babcock and Brown, but final approval depended on access to information on the assets in receivership, which Mr Scotty said PPB would not provide.

He said legal advice suggested this was a breach of the Corporations Act and the government would take action.

"I am disappointed that matters have deteriorated to this level, however, our efforts to deal with this in a conciliatory matter have so far not been successful," Mr Scotty said.

[QUOTE=barneybuck]Hope that site on the cnr of Bourke and Collins now gets sold and developed.

Barneybuck, cnr Bourke and Collins? I'm sure you mean cnr Bourke and Spencer.
All I'm interested in, is that the holes in the Collins Street streetscape which give Nauru House its Collins Street address get filled in as soon as possible.
There is nothing wrong with an Exhibition Street address nowadays. :)

________________________________________________________________
I collect, therefore I am. :cool:

good point - what's the news on the Nauru House forecourt redevelopment and also the extension of Le Louvre which was before the VCAT - was it approved?

Property sales 'might save Nauru'
THE AGE August 2, 2004 - 1:19PM

Nauru might scrape out of its dire financial state with a hefty chunk of change from the sale of its major Australian property assets.

The properties, bought by the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust (NPRT) during the tiny Pacific nation's phosphate mining boom, are in the hands of receivers, chartered accountants PPB, which is acting for the General Electric Capital Corporation (GE) over a $230 million debt.

NPRT's portfolio includes the landmark Nauru House tower and two hotels in Melbourne and the Royal Randwick Shopping Centre in Sydney.

Another investment, the Mercure Hotel on Broadway in Sydney, was sold in June for a reported $80 million.

Stephen Parbery, a partner with PPB, said Nauru might benefit from the sale of properties.

"After the sales, there should be a substantial amount of money left over that can be ring-fenced for the benefit of the Nauru people," he said.

"The proposals that have been put before us have been for the benefit of agents and others rather than the Nauruans themselves, and they (the proposals) have not had any economic credibility.

"Those assets have not provided an income for Nauru for some considerable amount of time, there is a substantial level of debt associated with them and they (government MPs) don't understand the economies of that.

"If you and your wife have a house that's 90 per cent mortgaged and you can't afford the repayments and you try and refinance, perhaps it's time to realise you can't afford the house."

On June 25, PPB served eviction notices on Nauru government entities on the top three floors of Nauru House.

Nauru last month failed to settle with PPB by offering its other properties for sale in return for allowing it to refinance with British business financiers Babcock and Brown and save Nauru House.

The Nauru Phosphate Corporation, which sells the island's phosphate, the Nauru Corporation, which buys consumer goods for the nation and other government entities were evicted last month.

A top-floor presidential apartment was closed in June.

Nauru's consulate and the NPRT will close at the end of this month.

Mr Parbery said Nauru had now agreed to vacate the top three floors of Nauru House to enhance its value and maximise the return.

He said Nauru's grand office space was beyond its means.

"With most consulates of that size, even in Sydney and various other places, their affairs are conducted in suburban homes.

"For the minimal amount of work they do, I would have thought all that substantial office space (for Nauru's entities) was dysfunctional and would hardly help them.

"The whole top floor is principally used as a penthouse. That's a whole storey of a huge office building to house two beds and a lounge.

"The set-up is not responsible in anyone's eyes, I would have thought."

The top floor of Nauru house would have to be the best and probably most expensive apartment in Melbourne (until Eureka, YVE and Royal Domain are finished).

Goes to show how the government of Nauru has wasted a massive fortune over the years through financial mismanagement and turned one of the richest countries in the world to one of the poorest in 25 years :-(

The other stark point is that income hasnt been drawn from the assets in a considerable amount of time!!

Why oh why do they want to sit on the likes of the Savoy Site for christ's sake? They obviously dont have the business know-how to develop and it's obviously 'dead money' sitting around doing nothing for anyone's benefit....

gah! tragic from their perspective and freaking frustrating from our perspective - a but ugly prime corner will sit stinking like a toilet for years to come!

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/23/1093246442266.html

Nauru House expected to fade away
By Helen Westerman
August 24, 2004

The landmark tower of Melbourne's Nauru House once symbolised the financial hopes of its small-island owners.

But even the name of the bankrupt Pacific nation is set to disappear from the 51-storey Collins Street building, which will go on sale early next month.

Naming rights are being offered in the sale of the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust's most valuable Melbourne asset, in the disposal of its Australian property portfolio by receivers PPB.

GE Capital - to whom the island nation owes $227 million - appointed PPB to take control of the trust's assets in April.

The national executive director for selling agent Colliers International, John Marasco, yesterday would not comment on an expected price for Nauru House.

He has previously said the 50,000 square metre building was worth up to $140 million, although other industry sources suggested $120 million would be closer.

"The genuine scarcity of quality institutional-grade investment product in the market at the moment, the opportunity to rebrand the building and the potential to add value will make this a highly sought-after asset," Mr Marasco said.


The building needs upgrading, as it was last refurbished in 1996, for $50 million. But other commercial agents said there were also good prospects of re-signing the major tenant, the State Government, when its lease expired in 2007.

Various government departments occupy 25,000 sq m of the building, although the Industrial Relations Commission vacated 10,000 sq m recently to move to 11 Exhibition Street.

But the Nauruan Consulate, Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust and Air Nauru have been ordered to move out this month.

I remember reading ... many years ago ... that Nauru House was large enough to accommodate the entire population of Nauru (who at that time via their Government owned it).

I think there was an alternative suggestion that, since we were going to totally consume their island with our phosphate mining, we might give them Curtis Island.

Incidentally, I wonder how many people remember that the Kimberleys were proposed as a Jewish Homeland prior to the establishment of Isreal in Palestine?

the kimberlys? really?

and i also heard in the MX awhile back that we might offer the Nauruains citizenship to Australia... but i did not hear of giving them an island.

It lives!

I just found out that in May this year the planning permit for the proposed Savoy Tower was extended so that they have until Spetember 2006 to start construction. Hopfully the site will soon be sold and the new owner can release the tower straight away :-)

:)

http://www.thehoddlegrid.net/projects/renders/cbd/savoy/120632.jpg

http://www.thehoddlegrid.net/projects/renders/cbd/savoy/211201.jpg

http://www.thehoddlegrid.net/projects/renders/cbd/savoy/211204.jpg

http://www.thehoddlegrid.net/projects/renders/cbd/savoy/211206.jpg

:banana:

Lets hope someone takes up the challenge and builds this beauty.

hell yes! looks sweet. a nice good glass building.
hope it gets done.

And a great boost for that area too :)
Clusters at either end of the CBD looking fantastic. We just need a few monsters in the middle to fill out that skyline a bit more, QV has helped a bit but I want more :D
stu

shameless bump.

shameless bump.I trudged all thru this for that. :sleepy: LOL.

well it, like the construction at night thread, were in danger of falling off the forum in the next prune and to save some people repeating themselves we can make people like you re-read everything :lol: ;)