Mystery surrounds King's castle
Nick Nichols
27Jun08
WHO owns Elysian Fields, the plush polo complex set up by embattled MFS founder Michael King seven years ago?
According to property records, ultimately it is 36-year-old Benowa man Bradley Lloyd Jones.
Mr King is not the beneficial owner of Canungra Property and Subdivisions Pty Ltd, the company listed in RP Data as owning three lots that comprise the 187ha Elysian Fields which sits along Beaudesert-Nerang Road and the Mundoolun Connection Road at Wonglepong.
He is not even listed as a director of the company.
Mr Jones, along with Lee-Anne Kym Murray of Clear Island Waters, are directors, while Mr Jones is the sole shareholder.
Ms Murray is company secretary to several companies associated with Mr King, among them Australasian Investments, Moonlight Australia, Black Teak and Fortmore, through which Mr King and MFS co-founder Phil Adams hold shares in MFS, now known as Octaviar.
Fortmore was placed into liquidation last month with contingent liabilities of $112 million.
Mr King was reported to be selling Elysian Fields for between $25 million and $30 million in the face of insurmountable debts that, two months ago, he said would almost certainly bankrupt him.
Mr King's financial situation was triggered by a rush of margin calls on his MFS share portfolio after the company's share price imploded earlier this year.
But the vexing question that remains is: who is Mr Jones and what is his connection to Elysian Fields?
It is possible he holds the beneficial interest in the company on behalf of a third party under a separate agreement.
Bradley Lloyd Jones is director of 12 companies, including Canungra Property and Subdivisions. Elysian Fields appears to be the only Queensland property it owns.
There is a charge over the company, held by OPI Pacific Finance, the embattled New Zealand subsidiary of Octaviar.
Attempts to contact Mr Jones were unsuccessful yesterday.
Many of the companies he controls are headquartered at Gold Group Chartered Accountants in Southport.
A Gold Group representative yesterday said she would forward a message to Mr Jones.
A search of the Elysian Fields website shows the property's general manager is a Brad Jones.
It was unclear whether this Mr Jones was the same as the Canungra Property and Subdivisions director.
The property manager also did not return calls yesterday.
Elysian Fields was assembled in two stages, beginning in 2000, at a total cost of $6 million.
Early sale records also show no connection to Mr King, although he has called Elysian Fields his home for most of his period at the MFS helm.
It has been reported that Mr King spent a total of $20 million on the property to develop it into one of the best polo facilities in the country.
But one agent yesterday described $25 million to $30 million understood to be sought for Elysian Fields as ambitious.
He said the market had softened for high-priced properties, with Elysian Fields seen by another as overcapitalised.
Mr King has been running the property as a business since his fall from grace, with the Elysian Fields website listing it as an accommodation, wedding and sporting venue.
In May, he told The Gold Coast Bulletin he had been holding fee-paying polo tournaments there in order to meet interest payments on the property.
Mr King could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, the company he founded was rocked this week by a raft of new claims by creditors.
OPI Pacific Finance has launched a $270 million damages claim against Octaviar which, along with a further $147.5 million sought by its former flagship investment vehicle, the Premium Income Fund, brings total debts owed by the company to more than $1 billion.
The latest claims cast into doubt Octaviar's ability to stave off liquidation, although directors this week said they were still negotiating with creditors.
Jenny Hutson, who now controls the Premium Income Fund through Wellington Capital, this week said loans made by the fund to MFS last year were 'inappropriate' and she had enlisted a top Sydney barrister to fight the case.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission yesterday declined to comment on whether it was investigating the claims made by Ms Hutson.
It was also claimed yesterday that OPI Pacific Finance had been the recipient of a raft of 'non-performing loans' transferred from MFS.
The allegations form part of the claim by OPI against Octaviar, which is now in the hands of S8 founder Chris Scott, who controls about 8 per cent of the company's now worthless stock.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/06/27/12968_gold-coast-top-story.html
OCV
octaviar limited
