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https://www.afr. com/work-and-careers/leaders/harold-clough-farewelled-by-perth-s-business-political-heavies-20220118-p59paf
Harold Clough farewelled by Perth’s business, political heavies
Michael BennetWA reporter
Jan 18, 2022 – 10.39pm
On a sweltering Perth summer’s day, one of the state’s business titans, Harold Clough, has been farewelled by the city’s who’s who of business and politics.
Mr Clough, the former long-time leader of the family-founded engineering and construction group that bears his name, died on January 5, aged 95, with the funeral held on Tuesday.
At his old school, Scotch College, one of Perth’s elite private schools in the plush western suburbs, a packed room celebrated the businessman’s life and career, which took him around the world and included key roles building some of the city’s most iconic infrastructure and opening up the state’s iron ore-rich Pilbara region.
The funeral service for Harold Clough at Scotch College in Perth. Philip Gostelow
Attendees included former WA premiers Richard Court and Colin Barnett, Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney, WA governor Kim Beazley, businessman John Poynton and lawyer and former AFL powerbroker Rob Mckenzie.
Also paying their respects were WA Liberal Party leader David Honey and former leader Mike Nahan.
Mr Clough’s grandson, Hugo Packer, a director at Perth investment banking firm Sternship Advisers, read Psalm 23 during the service, after a tribute by some of Mr Clough’s six children.
While masks were required following the government’s recent mandate, as the temperature hovered about 40 degrees, nothing could dampen the celebrations and tales of one of the state’s most enduring business leaders.
“Harold was an absolute legend, a man of complete and utter integrity and respected by all. We need more people like him,” Mr Poynton told The Australian Financial Review.
Harold Clough, seen in a 1997 photo at his rooftop “Terrace” office. Tony McDonough
Born in 1926, Mr Clough attained an engineering degree in Perth before further study at the University of California and joining Bechtel in San Francisco in 1953.
After marrying wife Margaret in 1954, he returned to Perth and joined his father John’s small outfit, Clough Bros, which was renamed J.O. Clough & Son the following year.
Former WA premiers Richard Court and Colin Barnett (right) at Harold Clough’s funeral service in Perth. Philip Gostelow
In 1956, the business won the contract to build Perth’s Narrows Bridge (Harold served as deputy project manager) in a joint venture, a business structure he helped pioneer and became a “significant part of [his] business acumen”, according to Clough’s website.
In the late 1960s, he was also involved in developing the Pilbara, working closely with Lang Hancock and Peter Wright, the company added.
Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney outside the funeral service. Philip Gostelow
After expanding the business nationally and overseas, Harold retired as managing director of Clough Engineering in 1989, remaining a director and chairman of Clough Limited until 2003.
The business listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in the late 1990s, before majority owner, South Africa’s Murray & Roberts, in 2013 mopped up the shares in Clough it didn’t own and the company delisted.
“He has been part of a select group of WA owner-entrepreneurs who have delivered extraordinary wealth and prosperity to our state,” said Nicolle Jenkins, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, earlier this month.
WA governor Kim Beazley and his wife, Susie, arrive at Harold Clough’s funeral service. Philip Gostelow
“[He] oversaw the growth of one of Western Australia’s most successful and iconic businesses [which] has played a pivotal role in Western Australia’s history, building Perth’s first high-rise building ... among many other significant works.”
William Harold Clough, who was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 and an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990, is survived by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
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https://thewest.com.au/business/con...r-187m-clough-share-dump-claim-ng-b881864585z
Forge Group liquidators build case for $187m Clough share dump claim
Neale PriorThe West Australian
Wed, 5 May 2021 12:55PM
Forge collapsed in February 2014 owing creditors $800 million, less than a year after Clough offloaded its 36 per cent stake in Forge as its share were near record highs. Credit: Unknown/Supplied by Subject
Engineering group Clough has failed in a bid to stop liquidators of failed contractor Forge Group building their insider trading case over a $187 million share dump in 2013.
Clough and its one-time Forge Group board representatives Kevin Gallagher and Neil Siford must now fight detailed claims about their alleged insider knowledge of Forge failures to adopt group-wide programs to manage risk.
Supreme Court judge Rene Le Miere has ruled that expanded allegations made in February are not blocked by a six-year statute of limitations because they merely refine allegations contained in a legal action that Forge liquidators kicked off in 2019.
This includes an allegation that Clough would have fetched “substantially less” than $6.05 a share for its Forge stake in March 2013 if the alleged insider knowledge was publicly known.
Forge collapsed in February 2014 owing creditors $800 million, less than a year after Clough offloaded its 36 per cent stake in Forge as its share were near record highs.
The price of Forge shares collapsed in the latter part of 2013 when massive budget blowouts at two power station projects became known.
The liquidators focused their investigations on what was allegedly a lack of processes or group-wide systems to manage the big risks of construction groups entering fixed-price contracts.
Kevin Gallagher is now managing director and CEO of Santos. Credit: News Corp Australia
The liquidators lodged a writ in March 2019 that included a draft statement of claim outlining insider trading allegations against Clough and its Forge representative. A formal statement of claim was lodged in June 2019.
The legal action is being fought by Clough, Mr Siford and Mr Gallagher, who is now managing director of Santos.
They last month asked Justice Le Miere to strike out key parts of an amended statement of claim lodge in February boring down on their alleged insider knowledge about Forge’s lack of processes or systems to deal with the contracting risks.
Justice Le Miere’s judgment this week reveals that Forge’s lack of risk management system was at the heart of the alleged insider knowledge. This was alleged in both the draft statement of claim and an official statement of claim lodged in June 2019.
The amended statement of claim lodged in February this year said the “the directors of Forge recognised the need for the Forge Group to adopt and implement a comprehensive, Forge group-wide risk register and risk management program”.
It also alleged the Forge directors knew “that no such register or program had been formally adopted, implemented or maintained”.
Clough and its former Forge representatives claimed the liquidators had made new factual allegations and the amended claim fell foul of the statute of limitations.
Justice Le Miere said the latest pleadings were different to the original ones but they were not inconsistent.
“The changes do not sufficiently change the formulation of (Forge’s) case so as to amount to a new cause of action,” he said.
He also found Forge’s case was clarified by new claims about the likely substantial effect of the alleged insider knowledge on the company’s share price in March 2013.
The liquidators claim Forge falsely made claims in its 2012 annual report about a system having been designed, documented, implemented and maintained for managing its material business risks
Those claims have been part of the case all along, but the February amendments included different characterisations about how information about this supposed system was reported to directors.
Justice Le Miere also found the changes did not amount to a new cause of action.
(20min delay)