HOME IMPROVEMENTS – AUSTRALIA

HomeBuilder package most effective stimulus in a decade

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Original article by Simon Benson, Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Jul-20

Nearly 40,000 people are believed to have registered for the federal government’s HomeBuilder grants since the scheme was launched on 4 June. Data from the Housing Industry Association shows that sales of new homes increased by 77 per cent in June; however, chief economist Tim Reardon says the data for July and August will indicate whether the surge in June was a one-off. Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar says HomeBuilder is working as intended, by stimulating construction and renovation activity and generating work for tradespeople.

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

State delays hold up HomeBuilder grants

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 16-Jun-20

Housing Minister and Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar says there is a lot of interest in the federal government’s HomeBuilder scheme. He says there have been more than 296,000 visits to the HomeBuilder website and over 23,000 people have registered their interest in the scheme. However, mortgage brokers claim that they have not yet been able to get any borrower processed under the scheme, as the states have not yet signed up to it. Homeloanexperts.com.au MD Otto Dargan says it is still waiting to hear from the appropriate state government bodies on advice as to how the scheme will work.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, HOMELOANEXPERTS.COM.AU

The Government’s HomeBuilder scheme offers $25k for home renovations – but not everyone will qualify

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Original article by Jordan Heyne
abc.net au – Page: Online : 5-Jun-20

People wanting to apply for grants of $25,000 to build a new home or renovate an existing one under the federal government’s HomeBuilder scheme must meet a range of criteria. They income thresholds and limits on the value of homes to be newly built, including the land. Contracts for new homes or renovations must be entered into before the end of 2020, and construction must begin within three months of the contract date. People wanting to use the money for a renovation must spend at least $150,000 of their own funds, and the home being renovated must be worth less than $1.5 million prior to the renovation. Investment properties do not qualify for the scheme.

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Wesfarmers dismisses Bunnings spin-off talk

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 22-Nov-17

New Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott says he has no plans to spin off Bunnings, the home improvement chain regarded as its most important asset. Scott says while he has people telling him he should spin off Bunnings, he gets just as many people telling him that Wesfarmers should retain it. Bunnings accounts for just 30 per cent of Wesfarmers’ group earnings, but is reckoned to be worth $A23 billion, almost half of Wesfarmers’ overall market value of $A48 billion. Scott concedes Bunnings’ expansion into the UK has not been as successful to date as was hoped, but he is confident that UK consumers will eventually embrace its format.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AIRLIE FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Renovation Nation: home improvement in Australia

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jan-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 62 per cent of Australia’s 13.6 million home owners did some kind of renovations in the year to September 2016. This compares with 57 per cent in the year to September 2013. The survey also shows that 43 per cent of home-owners did minor repairs/alterations in the last 12 months, while 27 per cent painted internal and/or external walls, window sills, ceilings and the like. Meanwhile, 17 per cent of home-owners spent more than $5,000 renovating or extending their home in the last year. This rises to 26 per cent for those who have been living at their current address for less than 12 months. In contrast, just 14 per cent of those who have been at the same address for five or more years have paid big bucks for home improvements.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Woolies’ ‘plan B’ on Masters exit

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Original article by Ben Butler, Ben Wilmot
The Australian – Page: 21 : 20-Sep-16

Documents filed in the Federal Court outline the strategies that Woolworths allegedly devised in order to withdraw from its Masters Home Improvement venture with Lowe’s. The US company is seeking to wind up the Masters joint venture company, Hydrox Holdings. Lowe’s claims that amongst other things, Woolworths made plans to terminate the joint venture agreement and sell Hydrox’s assets if the Lowe’s nominees on the Hydrox board did not agree to the sale of the joint venture company’s assets.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, HYDROX HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Blackstone measures Masters as retailers weigh up sites

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Original article by Catie Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 4-Feb-16

US private equity firm Blackstone Group has declined to comment on speculation that it may seek to acquire either the Masters Home Improvement business itself or its portfolio of stores. Meanwhile, Costco and Ikea are among the big-box retailers that are believed to be considering taking over some of the Masters stores, while Bunnings could potentially acquire about 25 outlets. David Errington of Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates that Woolworths could recover around $A1bn from divesting its home improvement assets.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, SPOTLIGHT GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SPOTLIGHT STORES PTY LTD, ANACONDA STORES PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, TPG CAPITAL LP, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, BLACKSTONE REAL ESTATE ADVISORS LLC

Investors back bid for Woolworths’ Home

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Original article by Catie Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 28-Jan-16

Allan Gray MD Simon Mawhinney says a merger between Metcash’s Mitre 10 business and the Home Timber & Hardware division of Woolworths could be a good deal if it was secured at an appropriate price. The future of the Home business is uncertain following Woolworths’ decision to exit the ill-fated Masters Home Improvement joint venture. Metcash has been touted as a potential buyer of Home, and it is said to have initiated talks with Woolworths on such a deal in mid-2015.

CORPORATES
METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MITRE 10 LIMITED, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, LUMINIS PARTNERS PTY LTD, DANKS HOLDINGS LIMITED, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Not quite Masters of the (hardware) universe

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Jan-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 7.9 per cent of Australians aged 14+ visited a Masters store in any given four weeks during the year to September 2015. This compares with 2.5 per cent in the year to September 2012. The number of Australians who visited a Mitre 10 store fell from 10.6 per cent to 9.1 per cent over the same period. The survey also shows that Queenslanders (in all locations) are 43 per cent more likely than the average Australian to shop at Masters, followed by Melburnians (41 per cent) and Perth residents (30 per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MITRE 10 LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, HOME HARDWARE, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED

Masters rollout ‘too aggressive’

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Original article by Patrick Hatch, Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 20-Jan-16

Australian-listed Woolworths and US-based Lowe’s have invested some $A3.48bn in the Masters hardware joint venture since 2009. The 33.3 per cent stake of Lowe’s has a book value of nearly $A900m, and the company has advised that its accounts for the December 2015 quarter will include a write-down of its investment. Meanwhile, Colleen Penhall of Lowe’s says the joint venture partners were too aggressive in their initial approach to opening Masters stores.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HYDROX HOLDINGS PTY LTD