Mitre 10 Group founder member Wendell Phillips continues to fly quietly under the radar while overseeing a range of broad range of business investments.
Phillips is a shareholder in Willis Bond Capital Partners, an investment fund of investors Willis Bond & Co. Managed by the McGuiness family, the Willis Bond partnerships have attracted other Rich Listers including Sam Morgan (and his father Gareth) and Brendan Lindsay; since 2010, Willis Bond has committed more than $200m of capital into 16 development opportunities with an estimated end value of $1.56 billion.
The company has a range of long-term relationships, including with Housing NZ and Wellington City Council. Among the company’s current projects are Wellington’s Cuba Precinct, Wynyard Central in downtown Auckland, and the Wellington Convention Centre opposite Te Papa Tongarewa.
Along with helping found the Mitre 10 Group, Phillips also founded the Building Depot chain. The company grew to become one of the country’s biggest hardware stores and was sold to Fletcher Building in 1997, although it later went into receivership in the face of tough competition from overseas.
A business partner of Brendan Lindsay, he was a director at plastics manufacturer Sistema. He helped fund the company through a particularly rough patch in 2011; overseeing and expanding its export business. Sistema now exports to over 80 countries throughout the world.
Among several current investments, Philips owns a half share in Wellington’s $21m Queens Wharf Retail Centre, as well as 11% stake in Donaghys, the Australasian rope, cordage and extruded plastics business.
2018: $110 million