BUSINESS ROMANCE

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 31, 31 October 1932, Page 8

BUSINESS ROMANCE

Bids at Sydney Auction FLASHED ACROSS SEA £lOO,OOO Site to N.Z. Man Dominion Special Service. Auckland, Oct 29. Radio telephone, the cable system and overseas exchange rates all played their part in a recent commercial romance which resulted in the purchase of the “Daily Telegraph” building in Sydney. The buyer, it was learned today, is Mr. J. W. S. McArthur, of Auckland. Mr. McArthur recently spent some weeks in Australia investigating Australian conditions and possible avenues of investments.. Information came into his possession which led him to make arrangements with agents to watch developments in connection with the property, which was finally purchased by auction on October 21. From the date of his return to New Zealand until the day of the sale Mr. McArthur repeatedly established contact with his agents in Sydney by wireless telephone. In this manner were details conveyed to Auckland which enabled the purchaser to secure by auction from a distance of 1200 miles what is regarded as a phenomenal bargain. The exchange problem was overcome by arrangements with an Australian firm dealing extensively in New Zealand commodities so that the actual price paid for the building was £87,000 in New Zealand currency. With financial arrangements satisfactorily completed, Mr. McArthur was in readiness to play his part at the auction sale. The first bid was £75,000 and two further blds of £5OOO raised the price to £55.000. There were subsequent blds of £lOOO each, when suddenly the climax arrived. Instructions were flashed from New Zealand to Mr. McArthur’s Sydney agent and relayed to representatives in the auction room who had been quietly awaiting their instructions, and the hammer fell at £lOO,OOO in Australian currency. The “Daily Telegraph” building has over 90,000 square feet of floor area. It is a solidly-built structure of granite and Sydney sandstone, twelve , s torles high. The property was sold m 1927 for £305,000, and in 1929 the land alone was valued at £187,000 and the building at £200,000. x , The present-day Government valuation' of the land is £78,000. The building will be used for commercial purposes and plans are in preparation for improvements costing approximately £25,000. Space has already been allotted to two New Zealand concerns, the Investment Executive Trust of New Zealand, Ltd., and the brokerage firm of V. B. Mclnnes and Co., Ltd. ; which is opening branches in Australia with headquarters in Sydney. Questioned regarding Australian conditions, Mr. McArthur said the pros-pects-of early recovery to more normal economic conditions wero much in evidence. _