The 2007 harvest has been a welcome relief for grape producers in WA, with unexpected sales to east coast operators easing the burden of oversupply. But the glut is yet to be fully overcome.
Great Southern Ltd has rejected claims from the Wine Grape Growers’ Australia that the grape glut that crippled many players in the industry during 2005 and 2006 would return to haunt the sector within five years.
The grape glut may have created headaches for many players in the WA wine industry, but it has provided enormous opportunity for South West producer Stella Bella Wines Pty Ltd, which has plans to build a cellar door not too far from Leeuwin Estate.
Rob Mann is one of a handful of Western Australian winemakers lucky enough to get his hands on some cuttings of pinot gris – a white wine style growing in popularity with wine drinkers in Europe and the US.
Just about all of Vanya Cullen’s Margaret River neighbours have produced lower-than-average grape crops this year after weather conditions in 2005 and 2006 left vines bearing smaller grapes and smaller bunches.
The Town of Vincent plans to seek formal expressions of interest from developers for a proposed $650 million mixed-use redevelopment of two hectares of rare land in Leederville.
Cape Bouvard Developments is confident the continued strength of the local commercial market will vindicate its decision to hold off from chasing an anchor tenant for its proposed $100 million project on Mounts Bay Road.
Parking and security player, Wilson Parking, has bought its fourth Western Australian security agency in two years with the purchase of Shelf Security in Dampier, one of the north-west’s largest security agencies.
The Western Australian entrepreneurs who have created the most wealth in the non-mining sector are led by people who spent most of their business life running private companies before opting for a sharemarket float.
The iron ore boom has underpinned the enormous wealth of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd managing director Andrew Forrest, and it has also boosted the wealth of some of Western Australia’s most famous families.
There may be a host of rags-to-riches tales among the executives enjoying the share price spoils of their publicly listed entities, but it’s a storyline that also extends to the private sector.
WA Business News’ Wealth Creators may be sitting on enormous fortunes, but that wealth is predominately on paper. And while the stock market can push the value of an individual’s shareholding up, it can just as easily make the wealth disappear.
The resources boom has swelled the job books for many of the country’s engineering firms, which in turn has lifted company profits and share prices and lined the pockets of some of the industry’s long-serving executives.
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd boss Andrew Forrest laid the groundwork for his current wealth four years ago this month when he negotiated a deal with Allied Mining & Processing.
Rod Mollett has wasted no time in his new role as president of the local chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in echoing calls for Perth to embrace what many claim is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Western Australian regional building and property group, Perkins Pty Ltd, has taken a 50 per cent stake in Perth-based swimming pool contractor, AVP Construction, which has a major foothold in Sydney.
The ongoing dispute between the Town of Victoria Park and the City of Belmont over the fate of Belmont Park racecourse will come to a head next week at what is expected to be a fiery round of public hearings.
It has been a long time since anyone thought seriously about investing in WA’s Wheatbelt region for the potential of a substantial future capital gain.
Matilda Bay Restaurant owner and general manager Warwick Lavis is in the midst of a $2 million overhaul of what many consider one of Perth’s best riverside restaurants.
UK-based industrial services company Cape PLC has withdrawn from discussions surrounding a potential takeover bid for Malaga-based scaffolding and form-work supplier PCH Group Ltd, saying it had been unable to have meaningful engagement with the company.
WA Business News invited some of the state’s leading tourism identities to discuss the key challenges facing the industry, and to offer a possible vision for the future of the sector in WA.
