trump rally authentic

Keeping It Real: How To Be More Authentic In Your Communications

by Blog

The irony of blogging about how to manufacture authenticity does not escape me. Surely being ‘real’ does not require an instructional video? Unfortunately, in the age of fake everything, it does. In modern corporate environments, particularly the marketing and communications space, we have developed a sophisticated language designed around coded phrases that have been deliberately created to squash authenticity. When a business claims to be leveraging a paradigm shift to move the needle towards a success narrative you know they are full of it and have lost the ability to communicate authentically.

Why would you trust a brand or person that can’t even trust themselves enough to be themselves? Being authentic is not just a moral obligation, but can have serious benefits for your career or brand. There is no better example of the growing value of authenticity then the election of Donald Trump.

Regardless of your political views, his campaign to win the Republican nomination and then defeat ‘Crooked Hillary’, was a masterclass in the value of being authentic. Despite his many other flaws, US voters developed an appreciation of his desire to not be anything else, other than himself. On the other hand, Hillary came to reflect everything that was manufactured; a slick careerist unable to say anything for fear of offending anyone. It became a choice between a flawed human and a perfect machine.

People still trust people more than robots and the rest is history. So how can you be more authentic in your communications, and enjoy the benefits of more engagement, without appearing to be faking it?

Be fearless

The courage to offend is often the first step towards authenticity. However, being courageous is not just about being an over-opinionated blowhard and saying whatever pops into your ahead. As Donald Trump will ultimately learn; manners and tone matter too.

To courage to speak your mind, add respect. A simple acknowledgement of the fact you disagree sends a clear message about your intent to ‘agree to disagree’ and builds trust with your audience. Too much modern corporate and political spin is created to avoid any potential blowback from individuals or groups who may not agree with you. The ability to respectfully disagree while maintaining dignity and composure are essential to authenticity.

Avoid platitudes and cliches

Platitudes are statements, especially those with a moral content, that have been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful. Like clichés, they are lazy form of communication that indicate to your listener that you haven’t bothered to create original thought for them. Avoid clichés like the plague.

Actions speak louder than words Speaking coach and author Nick Morgan believes a lot of coming across as authentic is in the non-verbal cues we give people. These non-verbal cues are the second conversation you are having with your audience and can have a huge impact on your ability to engage with people.

“We’re learning that in human beings the second, nonverbal conversation actually starts first, in the instant after an emotion or an impulse fires deep within the brain but before it has been articulated. Indeed, research shows that people’s natural and unstudied gestures are often indicators of what they will think and say next. You might say that words are after-the-fact explanations of why we just gestured as we did.” Nick Morgan (www.publicwords.com)

Morgan identifies four aims (or intents) that give rise to authenticity. The intent to be open with your audience by relaxing, the intent to connect with your audience by keeping their attention, the intent to be passionate about your subject matter and the intent to ‘listen’ to your audience by adjusting to their needs or mood.

READ MORE: How to become an authentic Speaker

Keep It Simple Stupid

Your staff and customers are facing and endless barrage of information meaning simplicity has never been more powerful or necessary. Effective leaders distill complex thoughts and strategies into simple, memorable terms that colleagues and customers can grasp and act upon. If you’re having trouble distilling something to its essence, it may be that you don’t understand it. So get clear and look out for technical jargon and business speak, which add complexity. Say what you mean in as few words as possible. These are of course only the basics but a good starting point to throwing off the shackles of fakery and beginning to build better relationships with your staff, colleagues, customers and partners by becoming a new, realer, you.

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What is Your Brand’s Editorial Mission?

by Blog

In the digital world every single brand, every single company, is a publisher. If you have a website, you are publisher, if you have a Facebook page, you are a publisher. If you send clients technical guides on how to use your products, you are a publisher.

The key to being a great publisher is a strong, clearly-defined and purpose-driven editorial mission. An editorial mission is the foundation of your content strategy and defines what you’re going to talk about and share as a content creator.

What is ‘editorial’?

The term editorial has traditionally been reserved by newspapers for the section of the paper where the ‘editor’ expresses the publisher’s own views and policies on a current issue. It was always separate from the objective news ‘reporting’ of the paper that was meant to be devoid of the personal opinions of the journalist and their editor. As an example, it has long been a tradition of newspapers to use their editorial pages to endorse their preferred candidate ahead of an election. This decision is meant to be the considered wisdom of the editor or senior editorial team and until recently had the potential to swing undecided voters.

In it’s strictest definition editorial content should not be influenced by outside forces. The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) says there is ‘no advertiser influence’ in the creation of editorial features and in all case’s the editor’s decision about content and tone are ‘final’.

Editorial is simply content that has been developed independent of outside influence, for no other purpose then providing the audience with information, insight and understanding.

However, the incredible growth of content marketing and the digital economy has seen many of these walls heavily eroded with the definition of ‘editorial’ content now encompassing a complex array of goals and influences.

Editorial as marketing

Fairfax’s Domain business unit is one brand that has used editorial to grow traffic and engagement. While the business is a relatively simple online listings business, the fact it is owned by Fairfax has provided the opportunity to use editorial as the spearhead for its marketing strategy.

In an interview last year with CMO magazine Domain’s chief marketing and editorial officer Melina Cruickshank explained how the company bought together data-driven decision making, editorial content, audience-oriented marketing and mobile-first thinking to drive a 92% increase in unique browsers in 18 months.

“We needed to bring together the journalists and audience marketers, create a new division called content and audience, and just go for it. It was a huge risk, and completely different to what everyone else had been doing. But I told him (Domain Group CEO Anthony Catalano) it was all about our journalists and our content. Domain’s strengths are mobile and editorial. People are obsessed with property, and if we can communicate to them in an authentic manner about property and gain their trust, we’re going to grow our reach.”

Editorial Mission

Editorial content is no longer the exclusive purview of pure media companies. Every brand that wants to communicate with customers should have an editorial mission that clearly articulates what they hope to achieve from their content. It should define you as a brand and what you stand for in the eyes of your stakeholders, both internal and external.

At the core of editorial and its value to an audience is the substance and integrity of the opinions that it carries. Having an editorial mission that is simply about the  features of your products and services does not count. Having an opinion about the externalities and influences that affect your customers is one of the easiest ways to supercharge your content strategy.

When developing our MBA News Australia website a few years ago we thought long and hard about our editorial mission. We needed to speak to both our audience (potential MBA students) and our customers (the business schools and universities that want to reach potential students). We needed a mission that guided every content decision we made. Ultimately we came up wth three guiding editorial principles:

  • Inform – provide the latest news, views and information about the courses available to people considering embarking on an MBA.
  • Educate – we want to help our readers understand the many options available to them for postgraduate business education
  • Advocate – be a champion for MBAs and the pursuit of management excellence.


Staying true to this mission has seen the site establish a reputation with both readers and advertisers as the first-stop for information about studying for an MBA in Australia.

Taking the time to define what your content means to your audience via an editorial mission is the first step in developing an effective content strategy. So get to it.

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Silver Chef Delivers Strong Second Half As FY17 Profit Tops $20 Million

by Client News

HIGHLGHTS

  • Net profit after tax of $20.2 million – strong second half performance of $15.6 million and includes one-off write-off for fraud of $2.3 million
  • Consistent strong performance from the Hospitality business with the rental asset base# up 34% on 30 June 2016
  • Strong growth in the New Zealand and Canadian asset bases
  • Improved second half credit performance from GoGetta
  • GoGetta business continues to be refined with focus on improving return on capital through customer quality measures
  • Dividend payout ratio increased to 68.7% of full year earnings
  • Implementation of securitisation funding facility on target
  • Earnings outlook for FY18 in the range of $24 million to $26 million

Leading equipment financier Silver Chef Limited (“Silver Chef” ASX: SIV) has today reported net profit after tax of $20.2 million for the year ending 30 June 2017.

As expected, the Group delivered strong second half financial performance as a result of improvement in GoGetta rental yield, better average credit quality and continued growth of the Hospitality business in international markets.

These improvements set up the business for strong growth in future periods. The full year result includes a significant one-off expense of $2.3M after income tax in respect of asset losses associated with the fraud event announced to the market on 17 November 2016.

The small miss against the lower end of the earnings guidance range was a consequence of deliberate slowing of growth in the GoGetta rental asset base in the second half of FY17 and additional arrears provisioning which was determined as part of the year end accounts review process.

Part of that difference arose from the Company’s decision to book additional provisioning against an individual customer arrears position where our recovery prospects deteriorated post year end.

The Board has declared a fully franked dividend of 25.1 cents per share.

In conjunction with the first half dividend of 12.9 cents per share, total dividends for the financial year are 38.0 cents per share, maintaining the Company’s payout ratio at 68.7% of earnings per share.

Chief Executive Officer Damien Guivarra said: “FY17 has been a challenging year for the Group, with rapid growth in the GoGetta business creating new demands in the areas of credit control, arrears administration and asset management. The Company has made significant improvements in these areas over the course of the year and it is confident that they will deliver improved financial returns in the GoGetta business moving forward. Pleasingly, the Hospitality business performed strongly again during the year. The Canadian market remains an attractive opportunity that will support the Company’s ongoing growth.”

Hospitality – Australia and New Zealand

The Hospitality business in Australia and New Zealand performed well during the year, with growth in its rental asset base of 26% against the previous corresponding period. The coffee and franchise channels made strong financial contributions during the period. The New Zealand business in particular contributed strongly, with 49% growth in its rental asset base against the previous corresponding period resulting in a significantly improved contribution to group earnings. The average credit quality of the Hospitality portfolio remains consistent with historical trends and reflects a relatively low level of annualised credit losses in the target range of 2.5% to 3.5% of revenue.

Hospitality – Canada

The Canadian Hospitality business achieved the strong origination and asset base growth targets planned for the year. The business delivered $18.6 million in originations for the year ended 30 June 2017, up 48% on the previous corresponding period. Canada ends the year with a rental asset base of $28.7 million at cost, up 81% on the cost base at 30 June 2016. There are now 40 employees providing a strong platform for future growth. Due to the relative immaturity of the Canadian portfolio, it is difficult to make a firm prediction as to the average credit quality of that growing portfolio, however early indications are that it will perform on a similar basis to that observed in Australia and New Zealand.

GoGetta

During the year, the Company improved its credit evaluation procedures, redesigned its approach to managing the recovery of outstanding arrears and commenced a project to review its processes for reconditioning and remarketing assets that are returned after the initial twelve-month rental period.

As predicted, the GoGetta brand delivered an improved financial result in the second half of FY17. Growth in the GoGetta rental asset base was moderated as a result of implementing tightened credit controls. Average credit quality has improved as indicated by the deceleration in the rate of arrears growth.

Critical to improving credit quality and halting arrears deterioration was the disaccreditation of non-performing partners (both finance brokers and equipment vendors) who were not aligned with the Group’s deal quality and customer credit standards.

While slowing in the GoGetta growth rate was a natural by-product of the Company’s tightening credit standards, this was further enhanced by management actions taken in response to the fraud event announced on 17 November 2016.

The Company previously advised that in the short term it expected bad debt and impairment charges recognised in the GoGetta business to be higher than historical group averages as management worked through contracts (primarily in the light commercial channel) which were written before significant tightening of credit policiesin March 2016.

After ongoing evaluation, the Company concluded that a number of sub categories of customers and asset classes in the broader light commercial channel were not performing in line with our credit quality criteria. The Company has discontinued lending into those channels with the exception of vehicles which are specifically designed for commercial purposes (such as vans and utilities).

The credit performance of the remaining classes in the light commercial channel are subject to ongoing review to ensure they are generating the appropriate returns and meet acceptable standards of credit performance moving forward.

Capital Management

The Company’s total assets at 30 June 2017 are $540.2 million, with net gearing at 65%. The Company extended its senior syndicated banking facility by $100 million to a total of $400 million of which there was $81 million of headroom at year end. This provides the Company with significant funding headroom as it transitions to a securitised funding model in FY18.

The Company is now in advanced stages of documentation and senior syndicate approval for the implementation of a $200 million securitisation warehouse facility. All parties are working toward execution of relevant documentation.

Successful performance of the securitisation structure will see a significant reduction to senior debt gearing levels during FY18 and a lower level of reliance on new equity to finance the Company’s growth targets over the coming years.

The facility permits funding of new originations of Silver Chef and GoGetta rental contracts, and will also be used to purchase the Company’s existing book of finance leases in the first instance, allowing a significant reduction to senior debt levels on first draw. Once implemented, the securitisation facility will enable the business to finance eligible contract originations to an initial maximum gearing of 80% on asset cost on a limited recourse basis.

Final pricing for the securitisation warehouse structure will be established closer to financial close on the transaction.

A share placement was made on 16 September 2016 to existing and new shareholders, that raised an additional $7.5 million of equity capital. An entitlement offer announced on 21 March 2017 raised a further $21 million of equity capital. Funds from these placements were used to fund growth in the Company’s rental asset base, and to maintain gearing at a conservative level as the Company transitions to securitisation funding.

The Company will continue to apply its historical approach to the management of the Company’s capital base, seeking to diversify its funding sources with a range of features and maturities to manage refinancing risk and interest rate risk. The delivery of the securitisation facility in FY18 is an important evolution of the Group’s capital management strategy. Appropriate senior secured facilities and other forms of debt and equity capital will be required to ensure continuity of funding for both domestic and international expansion.


People and Culture

Damien Guivarra transitioned to the role of Chief Executive Officer effective from 3 November 2016. On that date, Allan English, founder and former Executive Chairman, returned to the role of Non-Executive Chairman.

Mr Guivarra has played an integral role in the growth of the Company over the last ten years across a number of sales and operational management roles.

The Company remains committed to the ongoing development of its people, as part of its wider strategy as a certified B Corporation. Silver Chef is focused on running its business under a values driven framework with a genuine desire to make a wider contribution in the world. During FY17, we formalised strategies for better supporting our staff and our customers, reducing our environmental impact and creating more meaningful engagement with wider community initiatives through the establishment of the Silver Chef Foundation.

Technology

The Company continues to develop a new application management system with a second major phase of improvements commencing during the year. The system will generate considerable efficiencies by reducing application processing times and allowing information to be imported directly from external equipment dealer and finance broker platforms. It will also allow for credit pre-approvals for certain customers to be provided instantly.

Dividend

The Board has declared a fully franked dividend of 25.1 cents per share. The record date for the dividend will be 8 September 2017 and the payment date will be 2 October 2017. In conjunction with the first half dividend of 12.9 cents per share, total dividends for the financial year are 38.0 cents per share, making the Company’s payout ratio 68.7% of earnings per share.

Outlook

Management believes that the long-term outlook for domestic growth for both the Silver Chef and GoGetta brands remains positive. Expansion in Canada will continue and strong growth is forecast in its rental asset base again in FY18.

In the short term, improvement to yield and average credit quality in GoGetta will create a continued improvement to both return on capital and underlying accounting earnings.

The Company is conscious that there are ongoing challenges associated with managing the existing portfolio of GoGetta contracts. As previously noted, this portfolio is comprised of a mixture of credit qualities that improved significantly after March 2016. The portion of the Company’s asset base in the GoGetta business which is underperforming from a credit perspective is being actively managed with a view to contracts either being paid out or assets being returned and re-deployed as a matter of priority.

However, due to the volume of assets subject to this exercise, particularly in the light commercial channel, there is a significant cost burden associated with managing accelerated repossessions and redeployment of that capital. The financial impact of this activity is difficult to estimate, as it is dependent on the timing and condition of assets which are returned.

While the company typically targets growth in the range of 10 to 20%, in light of the above, the forecast for FY18 is in the range of 5% to 15%. As such, the Company expects full year after tax earnings for FY18 in the range of $24 million to $26 million.

# Asset base includes rental assets at written down value and lease receivables at amortised cost

ENDS: Media enquiries to Ben Ready on 0415 743 838.

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13 Words That Will Improve Your Writing

by Blog

There are plenty of words that get overused in the business environment – narrative, platform, synergy and competency – to name a few. Everybody understands what these words mean but they have become so broad as to be irrelevant in most uses. Often these buzzwords are bandied around to fill the space left by a person’s lack of vocabulary. In the interests of expanding my own vocabulary 9as well as yours) here are a few rare and common words you should be using more in your corporate writing.

  • Preach – being a powerful advocate for your company and products is an important function of any leader or employee. While most usage has a religious connotation you do not always need a pulpit to preach. We should never be afraid to preach what we practice, or practice what we preach.

  • Oracular – most investors will know instantly who you are talking about when referencing the “Oracle of Omaha”. While not the direct adjectival version of oracle, but still related, the adjective oracular, is defined as resembling an oracle (as in solemnity of delivery). In usage it can appear in a range of forms, including: “Our CEO is the oracular voice of the industry.”

  • Articulate – the ability to speak or write clearly and distinctly often gets lost in a haze of buzzwords. Simply asking a colleague, client or customer to ‘articulate’ what they want is a great way to avoid confusion. Articulating something is simply saying what you mean, and meaning what you say. For anybody with a waffler in the office, a polite request to be more articulate, may go a long way.

  • Concatenate – Concatenate comes directly from Latin concatenare, which in turn is formed from con-, meaning “with” or “together,” and catena, meaning “chain.” The simple definition is to link together in a series or chain (The word chain itself also evolved from catena.)

  • Felicitous – Defined as ‘well suited or expressed’. The prevailing market conditions were felicitous to improving earnings. Felicitous and the noun felicity, meaning “great happiness,” and later, “aptness,” derive from the Latin adjective felix, meaning “fruitful” or “happy.”

  • Neologism – This is the word that sparked this blog. A neologism is a new word, usage, or expression which has been created to reference something .Webinar, malware, netroots, and blogosphere are just a few examples of widely0used and understood neologisms.

  • Because – a relatively common, well understood word that doesn’t get used anywhere near enough. There are many ways to be specific, or more articulate, in your writing. One of the best is simply giving a reason why. And the most effective transition word when giving a “reason why” is because. Why? Because it is.

  • Precrastinate – The opposite of procrastination, it’s the tendency to complete or begin tasks without thinking them through. In one Penn State study, folks were asked to carry one of two buckets to the end of a course. Most chose the closest bucket, despite having to carry it further. In a sentence: “I shouldn’t have precrastinated on that report. Now I have to go back and do it again.”

  • Temerarious – Closely linked to temerity, temerarious is someone or something, that is rashly or presumptuously daring. “More important still—and here he is perceived as either temerarious or feckless—[Pope] Francis has departed radically from his predecessors in that he actively encourages his bishops … to speak boldly when addressing him and in assembly….” — Michael W. Higgins, The Globe and Mail, 13 March 2015.

  • Battle – Like preach from the church, we need to reclaim ‘battle’ from the military. As a noun battle is a sustained fight between large organised armed forces, but as a verb it becomes about struggling tenaciously to achieve or resist something. It is a word that engenders a sense of desperation and the need to fight to achieve a result. Business is a battle in so many ways, we should be calling it what it is.

  • Munificent – Munificent first came into usage back in the late 1500s when English speakers, perhaps inspired by similar words such as magnificent, altered the ending of munificence. With a similar definition to ‘lavish’, munificent means very liberal in giving or bestowing. Twiggy Forrest’s recent philanthropic activities were a munificent gesture.

  • Perspicacity – defined as having a ready insight into things; a shrewdness. My father first taught me this word many years ago after returning from a stint working in the Papua New Guinean highlands. After calling a local labourer a ‘[unrepeatable] dumb [unrepeatable]’ he was forced to check his dictionary after being told to never question said labourer’s perspicacity ever again. It is a bit pompous (the adjectival form, perspicacious, even more so) but still worth dropping into the odd email to impress the socks off the boss.

There are some great sites around that can help improve your vocabulary (many of them were the source for above). Check out:
Dictionary.com – http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/
Merriam Webster – https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day
WorkThink – http://www.wordthink.com/
Oxford Dictionaries – https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/word-of-the-day
New York Times – https://www.nytimes.com/column/learning-word-of-the-day

Fact: Fake News Isn’t New

by Blog

While fake news isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s fairly worrying. False stories spread on social media – or, true stories embedded with fake facts and vice versa – have morphed into a modern, more terrifying and more impactful version of what the old-fashioned 1990s viral chain emails used to do (Fig.1).

HAUNTING Fig.1. Early 2000s chain email, apparently from Mother Teresa.

US Politics: The fusion of news and politics has created a whole new news stream

In the US, fake and misleading news is at peak popularity during elections and specifically the run-up. Stories that get the most hits during this time – upwards of 2 million – were stories that “fed into conspiracy theories,” according to a published interview with a fake news website owner. On May 18, 2017, the US Office of Science and Technology Policy addressed President Trump in a letter stating its concern that “disseminating stories from dubious sources has been a recurring issue with your administration. You previously made the false claim that President Obama ordered your phones to be “tapped” based on false reports which have subsequently been contradicted by U.S intelligence officials,” it read. In other words, Trump got in trouble for believing and feeding the fake news that was served to him. Google has cracked down on fake news, illustrating its intolerance by disabling fake news’ ability to attract advertising revenue. However, results of these actions are yet to be reported. There have even been cases whereby non-researched media stories have been published supported by false facts linked directly to made-up chain emails from previous years.

Facebook’s fact checker: Will it work?

After acknowledging it had been somewhat taken over by fake news, Facebook recently began the rollout of a feature that flags certain posts as “disputed.” In some cases, however, this appears to be having the opposite effect to the one Facebook actually wanted. Some sources have reported that ‘disputed’ articles are still populating Facebook feeds without displaying warnings. Others have said traffic to fake news posts have increased after Facebook activated the service, which begs the question: Maybe people just want to be entertained? Or perhaps they are actually drawn to conflict? The new Facebook feature works in partnership with dedicated fact-checking websites from the U.S. Satirical news sites are also causing a headache for Facebook, with many passive readers unaware of the deliberately-fake content, instead ‘flagging’ the article and commenting disapproval.

Fake news is bad, but it’s part of a bigger problem

Deliberately misleading news – the kind of content that’s not fake – is seen by some to fall into a category of the lowest form of click-bait designed to fool readers, usually prompted by a vague or misleading headline, or even partially ‘missing’ headline – one of the tackier ways to gain attention. As a reader, It’s important to read past the shocking headline, check the author and double-check any sourcing before committing to forwarding or tagging someone in an article. Bottom line: Don’t fall for cheap click-bait tactics. You’re better than that!

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Gold Coast Turf Club To Be Renamed Aquis Park In 3 Year Partnership Deal With Aquis Australia

by Client News

Major Naming Rights Deal Announced Making It the Largest In Club’s History
Gold Coast, Thursday 1 June:  Gold Coast Turf Club & Event Centre (GCTC) today announced a 3-year partnership deal with Aquis Australia that includes naming rights to the racecourse.

Effective 1st of August 2017, the Turf Club will be renamed Aquis Park.

This is by far the biggest deal the Club has inked to date and in the coming months the partnership will unveil a number of specific activations to bring the brands closer to its Members, equine precinct, horse owners and trainers and the general public.

The financial arrangements underpinning the partnership are confidential.

“Aquis Park will be a first for the Racing Industry in Queensland and we are excited to enter this long-term partnership with Aquis, fast becoming an iconic brand in Australia,” Gold Coast Turf Club CEO Steve Lines said.

“The synergy between the Club and this premium brand represents tremendous opportunity for us to elevate the experience for all our stakeholders and further accelerate our future plans.”

Mr Lines adds. As part of the partnership, the Club will undergo a series of staged renovations and Aquis Park will feature signage atop A.D Hollindale Stand, at the track entrance, on the Winners Post and Stalls as well as throughout the venue and organisation.

A number of strategic marketing initiatives will also be rolled out to capture the full potential of the partnership.  One being, in line with the Racing Infrastructure submission to Racing Queensland, Aquis is excited about the potential of “Night Racing”.

Aquis Australia Chairman Tony Fung said the partnership would be a important plank in growing the Aquis brand in Australia and was a further demonstration of the company’s commitment to the Queensland racing and breeding industries and the broader Queensland community.

“This deal is not only a naming rights program, but it is designed to be a true partnership between two companies dedicated to providing world class racing,” he said. “The partnership is also an important part of our strategy to improve links between the local industry and Asia in both horses and real estate. This partnership will bridge the ocean between the two industries.”

Aquis Australia CEO Justin Fung said the company was looking forward to working with the Gold Coast Turf Club to progress a range of opportunities at Aquis Park.

“We see this as a genuine partnership with a range of opportunities to grow our respective businesses by leveraging the expertise and resources of each organisation,” he said. “We have been very impressed by the GCTC’s long term vision for their facility and look forward to the next few years.”

Over the last two years Aquis has built Queensland’s largest thoroughbred racing and breeding facility – Aquis Farm – at Canungra on the Gold Coast hinterland and recently acquired the long term management rights to Emirates Park in the Hunter Valley.

Gold Coast Turf Club Chairman Brett Cook said he was excited about the shared vision, commitment and enthusiasm of the new partnership.

“On behalf of myself and The Board of Directors we are excited with this agreement and this is great news for ourselves and our members,” he said. “We are looking forward to building a very strong partnership with Aquis Australia; the racing and non racing opportunities are on the table for both parties to explore with positive times ahead for all.”

Aquis Park Raceday on August 5 will be the official public launch.

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FIIG Closes New Corporate Bond As Axsesstoday Adds $30 Million To Fund Continued Growth

by Client News

ASX-listed specialist finance group Axsesstoday Limited (ASX:AXL) has closed oversubscribed a new $30 million Note offer as part of its strategic debt diversification plan.

It will also fund the continued growth of the company’s underlying equipment financing business, which has more than tripled in the last 18 months.

This is the third time Axsesstoday have issued into debt capital markets, and the first since the company listed on the ASX in December, with all issues being arranged by FIIG Securities Limited.

The $30 million Series 2 Medium Term Notes pay a fixed coupon of 7.50% p.a. quarterly in arrear and are due on 22 June 2021. The Notes provide a third layer of debt into Axsess’ capital structure and will rank in priority to the existing $40 million Subordinated Notes due 9 October 2021, and behind their current bank facilities.

The issue was available to FIIG’s client base of Wholesale and Sophisticated Investors only.

Axsesstoday is a Melbourne-based specialist provider of business and operational critical equipment funding to small-to-medium size enterprises through accredited distribution channels in hospitality and other niche sectors.

Since Axsesstoday began originating leases, it has grown its net leases to $89 million as at 31 December 2016, compared to net leases of $27.5 million in October 2015.

FIIG Securities Head of Debt Capital Markets John Ricciotti said Axsesstoday’s strong credit profile, combined with its listing on the ASX made it an attractive proposition for clients.

“As a lender itself, Axsesstoday understands the importance of diversification and debt duration and we are confident this series of Notes will help underpin their future business success.”

“This type of issuance is ideal for unrated non-financial sector and we expect demand to continue to grow through the year.”

Other financiers to conduct successful bond issues through FIIG include: StockCo Australia ($47m), CML Group ($65 million), MoneyTech Finance ($25 million), Cash Converters ($60 million), and Silver Chef ($30 million). This is the 37th bond that FIIG Securities has originated bringing the total raised to over $1.6 billion.

Axsesstoday Limited CEO Peter Ferizis said the Notes were an important part of the company’s overall funding structure as it entered a new phase of growth as a public company.

“To have access to debt markets, traditional bank debt facilities, equity markets and our own cash flow provides us with a diverse range of levers to draw on as we add to our asset base,” he said.

FIIG Securities Limited, which is licensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), is Australia’s largest specialist fixed-income dealer.

FIIG has more than $11 billion in term deposits and corporate bonds under advice in its short-term money market, bonds and custody business. The company has Offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. For more information about FIIG Securities please visit www.fiig.com.au.

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Aquis Farm Teams Up With Emirates Park For New Joint Venture

by Client News

Leading Hunter Valley thoroughbred breeding facility Emirates Park and Queensland’s Aquis Farm have today announced a new joint venture that will see Aquis Farm take over management of Emirates Park’s Murrurundi property, facilities and stallion roster.

Hussain Lootah, son of His Excellency Nasser Lootah, Founder and Chairman of Emirates Park, said the joint venture between the Lootah and Fung families would create a new force in the Australian thoroughbred breeding and racing industry.

“For some time now we have been looking for a like-minded partner to share our vision for taking Emirates Park to the next stage of its growth and development and in Aquis Farm and the Fung family we believe we have found the perfect partner,” he said.

“We are excited by this joint venture and what it will mean for both the Emirates Park and Aquis Farm businesses going forward and I personally very much look forward to being able to develop the leading band of broodmares in Australia in the next few years.”

Aquis Farm CEO Justin Fung said that he and his father, Tony, were excited to be entrusted with the management of the Emirates Park property, facilities and stallions but more excited to have found great friends and business partners in the Lootah family.

“We see the sky as the limit in our vision to grow the respective Aquis and Emirates businesses in Queensland and New South Wales,” Mr Fung said.

Emirates Park CEO Bryan Carlson said the joint venture was the perfect outcome for the aspirations of the Lootah family.

“It will allow the family to focus on developing their Australian based high class quality broodmare band as well as their international thoroughbred interests, whilst Aquis focuses on operational activities at Emirates Park on a day to day basis as well as management of the great Emirates stallions Artie Schiller, Dream Ahead and Al Maher,” he said.

Mr Carlson said a key component of the joint venture was Aquis’ commitment to retaining all the existing Emirates Park staff.

Emirates Park Director Dr Shalabh Sahu, who was instrumental in bringing the Lootah and Fung families together, said: “we are all extremely excited by what the future holds and especially look forward to working together on all our stallion’s future stallion prospects”.

Key points of the Emirates / Aquis Farm Joint Venture:

  • Emirates Park has appointed Aquis Farm to manage their property and stallions at their facility at Murrurundi, New South Wales, under a long-term management agreement. The Emirates Park name will be maintained.
  • Under agreement Aquis Farm will care for Emirates Park’s high quality Broodmare Band and to consign the Emirates Park sales stock for auctions throughout Australia. Emirates Park will retain ownership and strategic management of its Broodmare Band.
  • On behalf of Emirates Park, Aquis Farm will manage the stallions Artie Schiller, Dream Ahead and Al Maher at Emirates Park.
  • Aquis Farm and Emirates Park have agreed to work co-operatively to identify and develop stallion prospects for the Australian breeding industry.
  • Aquis Farm will transfer exciting Todman Stakes winning, first-season stallion Kiss And Make Up to Emirates Park for the 2017 breeding season with his progeny to be supported by three bonus schemes.
  • The Aquis Farm property at Canungra on the Gold Coast hinterland will remain unaffected and will continue to expand as it has done over the last two years.
  • Aquis farm will transport and agist, free of charge, client broodmares between Emirates Park and Aquis Farm (both ways) so that clients of Aquis Farm can easily and conveniently use stallions at either farm without substantial interstate transport costs.
  • Aquis Farm will employ all Emirates Park staff in their existing roles with the exception of Dr Shalabh Sahu and Bryan Carlson who will remain in new strategic and senior international and domestic roles with Emirates Park.

Following the agreement Emirates Park and Aquis Farm clients will have access to an incredible roster of high quality stallions for the 2017 season. Emirates Park (managed by Aquis) NSW Stallions and Fees (all including GST):

  • Artie Schiller $33,000
  • Dream Ahead $19,800
  • Kiss and Make Up $16,500 – NEW
  • Al Maher $13,200

Aquis Farm Queensland Stallions and Fees (all including GST):

  • Husson $13,200 – NEW
  • Spill The Beans $11,000
  • Holy Roman Emperor $9,900
  • Furnaces $9,900 -NEW
  • Domesday $8,800
  • Sweet Orange $4,400 – NEW
  • Benfica $4,400
56956206 - summer vacation accessories on tropical sandy ocean beach, holidays abroad - summertime lifestyle objects and european euros in flat lay top view arrangement in warm sand.

How To Protect Your Overseas Travel Money Exchange Rate This Easter

by Client News

USA, UK and Thailand top destinations in April

Australian travellers now have some much-needed protection from currency exchange rate movements with the introduction of free Rate Guard exchange rate protection from Travel Money Oz.

As many Australians leave for overseas this Easter and school holiday period they are being offered protection for any last-minute currency exchange rate improvements so that they can obtain the best rate possible. 

The foreign currency specialists will pay you back the difference if the exchange rate improves within 14 days of you making your foreign currency purchase in store*.

Scott McCullough, Retail General Manager of Travel Money Oz said, “There’s no need to leave getting your travel money sorted to the last minute and trying to guess when the right day is to buy.

“Rate Guard will help remove uncertainty for travellers as no one is able to predict market movements.

“We’ve seen some recent strengthening of the Australian dollar against the US dollar. If, for example, you’re about to leave for the USA, Rate Guard can give you peace of mind about missing out on any ongoing rate improvements.”

Mr McCullough said that according to Flight Centre Travel Group leisure booking data the top five destinations for Australian travellers this April are the USA, United Kingdom, Thailand, New Zealand and Indonesia.

The Rate Guard protection is available for seven currencies (USD, GBP, EUR, NZD, IDR, FJD, THB) purchased instore at the advertised exchange rate and will see the difference paid into your nominated bank account within five business days of claiming.

Travel Money Oz is the only foreign currency exchange provider to currently offer this protection in Australia.

Mr McCullough said a change in exchange rates can have a real impact on overseas spending money, which is often a last-minute purchase consideration by travellers.

“If you’re travelling to the UK this Easter then your holiday money is 11% cheaper than this time last year and the Euro currency is 4% cheaper than a year ago^,” Mr McCullough said.

“Even in the days before you travel exchange rates can improve significantly after you have purchased your foreign currency.

“With Rate Guard, you know you will be getting the best rate during the 14-day period and it’s available as a free add-on.

“We aren’t able to provide any rate predictions but we know that many travellers prefer to have certainty.”

*Conditions apply. Visit www.travelmoneyoz.com/rateguard for full terms and conditions.

^comparison based on exchange rates on 3 April 2017 to 12 months earlier.

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IMF Bentham Taps Debt Markets for $40 Million

by Client News

The world’s most experienced and successful litigation funder IMF Bentham Limited (ASX:IMF) has completed a $40 million follow on bond issue as part of its ongoing capital management strategy. The issue was oversubscribed from the minimum issue size of $18 million.

The 3.25 year Notes will pay a fixed rate of interest of 7.40% p.a., paid semi-annually in arrear. The Notes are to be issued at a capital price of $101, providing a yield to maturity of 7.04%. The Notes will be consolidated and form a single series with the company’s existing $32 million Secured Notes due 30 June 2020, and issued on 8 April 2016.

Completion of the $30 million issue, takes the total amount of bonds issued by IMF through FIIG to $72 million. This is the 37th bond that FIIG Securities has originated, bringing the total raised to over $1.5 billion.

FIIG Securities Head of Debt Capital Markets John Ricciotti said IMF Bentham’s strong balance sheet and commitment to maintaining high levels of liquidity provided a strong investment case for the Notes.

“The company has a strong track record of maintaining cash reserves to ensure it can satisfy litigators and Courts that it has sufficient resources to meet funding of costs during trials and any judgements.”

“This issue will add to existing cash reserves of over $150m and support their growing case portfolio both in Australia and the United States.”

IMF Bentham was established in 2001 and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. It is the largest litigation funder in Australia and now offers its services in overseas jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore and through its joint venture operations in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.

Mr Ricciotti said the number of companies returning to debt markets to retap existing issues highlighted the value of establishing a bond program.

Of the 36 issues completed by FIIG, 4 are by companies who have previously issued bonds through FIIG’s Debt Capital Markets team.

“Along with diversifying your debt portfolio, the ability to quickly and efficiently return to market to issue new debt as your business grows highlights the flexibility of corporate bonds,” he said.

FIIG Securities Limited, which is licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), is Australia’s largest specialist fixed-income dealer. FIIG has more than $11 billion in term deposits and corporate bonds under advice in its short-term money market, bonds and custody business.

The company has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. For more information about FIIG Securities please visit www.fiig.com.au