Brierley

In 1955, Ron Brierley began working at Sun Insurance Co. Ltd., now Sun Alliance Insurance, and developed a passion for the stock market.

He started trading shares, with his first purchases being Auckland Gas Company shares. Brierley and his friends, known as the Brierley Boys, formed Investment Funds NZ Ltd. in 1959.

R.A. Brierley Investments Ltd.

, founded by Ron Brierley in 1961, aimed to reorganize companies, invest in merging industries, private companies, property, and stock exchange securities. Its ambitious goal was to pay a 10% dividend in its first year, significantly higher than the typical 3-6%. The company's first acquisition was New Zealand Stocks and Shares, followed by unsuccessful bids for Otago Farmers and Southern Cross Building Society Ltd.

In 1963, Brierley's BIL raised £265,965, exceeding its £100,000 target, through unsecured deposit notes under "The Finance Corporation of New Zealand", a name critics deemed misleading. Brierley, known for challenging the establishment and his provocative persona, also introduced unsecured note subscriptions with free life insurance, a first in New Zealand or Australia. Despite outward success, BIL struggled to meet high interest yields, with many notes rolled over into demand notes.

Ron Brierley's investment strategy was grounded in meticulous research, with a preference for tangible "bricks and mortar" companies over tech firms. He capitalized on unlisted public companies with high proportions of forgotten shares, labeled as GNA (Gone, No Address), allowing for control with less than majority ownership. This approach led him to significant stakes in companies like Mamaku Forests Ltd and ventures into Australian markets, including successful takeovers and some costly failures.

In the mid-1960s to 1968, Brierley's BIL was rejected five times by the New Zealand Stock Exchange for not being considered respectable, partly due to exploiting legal loopholes in raising funds through unsecured deposit notes, which angered the government. In 1968, Brierley personally raised over $1 million via unsecured personal deposit notes, a move that led to a confrontation with the Prime Minister, who was later embarrassed to learn the Treasury had approved Brierley's prospectus. Despite public outcry over BIL's sixth listing rejection in 1969, the Exchange remained unmoved, even as BIL's share price soared and its Australian presence expanded, including a notable takeover of the New Redhead Estate & Coal Co.

Ron Brierley, a New Zealand businessman, was known for his unorthodox accounting methods, often clashing with standard practices. He believed in leveraging legal loopholes and personally wrote his companies' annual reports until the 1980s, leading to confusion among accountants due to non-standard procedures. Brierley argued that his company, BIL, required unique accounting due to its focus on trading shares and assets.

In the 1970s, Brierley's New Zealand company BIL and Australian company IEL thrived, being large enough to be credible yet small enough to avoid regulatory and competitive scrutiny. This era offered many acquisition opportunities due to undervalued companies. BIL's shares, once below par, surged to eight times par by its 1970 New Zealand Stock Exchange listing.

Ron Brierley took a direct role in managing IEL, unlike his more hands-off approach with BIL, retaining ultimate control over both. This approach clashed with IEL's managing director, Robert Blackburn, who preferred more aggressive tactics and resented Brierley's unilateral decision-making. Their growing conflict became public, culminating in Blackburn's resignation in July 1973, with a notable severance package.

Throughout the 1970s, Ron Brierley managed Industrial Equity Limited (IEL) in Australia, while maintaining control over Brierley Investments Limited (BIL) in New Zealand. Despite changing economic conditions, IEL grew through individual projects, often requiring creative accounting due to the long-term nature of the projects and short reporting timeframes. Brierley's strategy involved identifying undervalued "corporate orphans".

Ron Brierley, a successful investor by the mid-1970s, lived modestly, preferring hotel stays over home ownership, though he eventually bought residences in Wellington and Sydney. His simple tastes included crocodile shoes, luxury cars, steak and chips, and red wine. Passionate about cricket, he followed New Zealand's team, knew the players, and enjoyed replaying matches.

During the 1970s, while Brierley expanded his Australian operations, BIL in New Zealand grew under Trevor Beyer and Bruce Judge, who was known for his competitive and aggressive leadership. Judge, alongside Selwyn Cushing, contributed to BIL's expansion, particularly in Hawkes Bay. Despite a $1.

In 1977, Brierley Investments Limited (BIL) launched a controversial takeover bid for Kempthorne Prosser Ltd, a major New Zealand fertilizer company, sparking debate over external control of key agricultural sectors. The bid, managed by Bruce Judge and accountant Paul Collins, involved intense negotiations, drawing interest from Federated Farmers, the government, and various industry boards, highlighting the complexities of corporate takeovers. Despite challenges and a lower-than-expected profit of $2.