Oatley family empire carve-up starts with vineyards
The carve-up of the Robert Oatley’s estate has begun, with his son Sandy Oatley taking control of the family’s sprawling winemaking operations, new accounts filed with the corporate regulator show.
The family are the heirs to the fortune of the late Bob Oatley who died in 2016. Bob Oatley made his first fortune selling Papua New Guinea’s coffee and cocoa beans internationally. He later pocketed almost $1.5 billion selling wine giant Rosemount to Southcorp in 2001.
Bob’s children – Sandy, Ian and Rosalind – are all directors of the family office, Balmoral Australia, formally Balmoral Pastoral Investments. In filings with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission this week, Balmoral said it had sold its entire holding in Robert Oatley Vineyards to an entity called AGO Trusco. Sandy, his wife Carol and his daughter, Nicole, are directors of AGO. The latter two are the company’s only shareholders.
Sandy Oatley with his daughter Nicky earlier this year.
In March, Robert Oatley Vineyards was renamed A. G. Oatley Wines, the filing said. The business has emotional significance, as it marked Bob Oatley re-entry into the industry after selling Rosemont to Southcorp, which became Treasury Wine Estates, in 2001. Southcorp later wrote down the $1.49 billion investment in Rosemont by $1 billion.
The filings showed that during the 12 months to the end of June 2022, the family office reported a net loss of $11.6 million compared to an $88 million net profit the year before. It had consolidated revenue of $377.7 million for that financial year, compared to $359 million the year before.
Balmoral’s main asset is Hamilton Island, which is owned through a subsidiary known as 21st Century Resorts Holdings. That business paid a $35
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