Barry Colman is better known in some circles these days as “B C Colman” – the pseudonym under which he wrote his first political thriller.
Colman’s career in journalism began with the Rotorua Daily Post in 1964 and included stints on the Sunday Mail and Courier-Mail in Brisbane before he launched his Property Press business, which was later sold to the then ACP, now Bauer, in 1997.
He first entered into a joint venture with Fairfax more than 30 years ago to buy The National Business Review. He sold out when it was taken from twice a week to five days a week and then later bought it back outright for $1. In between he launched his own rival business paper, The Examiner, and then merged the two.
He sold NBR to present publisher Todd Scott in 2012.
Now Colman splits his time between Auckland and Australia's Gold Coast, where he set his book A Line Too Far.
His novel, published in 2016, was about a Chinese invasion of northern Australia in which the Australian prime minister is issued an ultimatum to agree to new borders in 10 days or face war. New Zealand inevitably becomes embroiled in the confrontation.
He has written two more books since then and is now on a fourth.
“I enjoy the process of it,” he says. “It's better than being a journalist – you can just make it up.”
The books remain in manuscript form so far. Colman’s writing mentor, who he declines to name, has suggested some adjustments but there will be another in the market before long, focused on his favourite topic – “politics and power and shenanigans.”
After selling NBR, Colman gradually wound down his publishing empire but maintains a portfolio of property investments, including several in upmarket areas of Auckland.
In January, 2020 Colman sold his last publication to Freeman Media. The Capital Letter, a weekly newsletter, provides court judgment summaries from the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. It also provides updates on legislation, statutory reviews and general reviews, and enjoys a wide subscription base across the legal profession.
Publisher Matt Freeman said that plans for the publication include a transition from its weekly print format to a real-time online format and a broadening of the editorial scope.
In April 2018 Colman and his wife Katie bought a clifftop property on Waiheke Island for $3.6m.
2018: $160 million