CBD Melbourne: Some free advice for private equity giant Bain

The local boss of private equity giant Bain Capital, Mike Murphy, is very, very serious about owning Virgin Australia. We know this because he broke with tradition – private equity bosses are notoriously ... private – and made a public statement over the weekend. Bain was here for the “long haul”, Murphy said of restoring the embattled airline.

Murphy has spared no expense assembling a crack team of advisers to help prepare his bid, including corporate undertaker Mark Mentha and one-time Jetstar chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka. Bain is up against rival private equity groups BGH, Indigo Partners and Cyrus Capital Partners.

Melbourne-based Hrdlicka, who also chairs Tennis Australia, could be Virgin’s next chief executive or the chairwoman if Bain is successful.

Interestingly, she is still on the payroll of her former employer, A2 Milk.

Hrdlicka abruptly parted ways with the New Zealand-based milk producer in December. Her end-of-contract arrangements include a standard six-month stint on the A2 books as a “consultant” which ends on June 30. "Consulting" can sometimes mean “gardening leave”, with these arrangements put in place to stop executives working at other firms for a period of time.

All this raises an obvious question. How can Hrdlicka work for Bain while still drawing a pay cheque from A2?

The milk company was unavailable for comment. But sources close to Bain say that in an amazing act of selflessness, Hrdlicka isn’t being paid for the work she’s currently doing on the Virgin bid. Presumably it will be a very different story come July 1 when the “consultancy” ends.

INS AND OUTS

As Barnaby Joyce’s former senior media adviser, Gerard McManus will be familiar with curly questions.

That gig may well have made everything else seem like light work. But then again, McManus’ most recent role as chief of staff to former sports minister Bridget McKenzie during February’s so-called "sports rorts" investigation would have been no picnic.

McManus, a former Herald Sun journalist, has got a new job in Resources and Water Minister Keith Pitt’s office as senior adviser. He’s even had the tick of approval from Tony Nutt’s Liberal "Star Chamber" vetting machine, which is reassuring given he’s far from an unknown quantity. Prior to McKenzie, McManus was chief of staff to former employment minister Kelly O’Dwyer.

But it’s not the only recent movement in Coalition staffing circles. Less than a month after Geelong Advertiser reporter Andrew Jefferson became Victorian senator Sarah Henderson’s media adviser, he has left the office.

Given his empty chair, it’s hard to know who, if anyone, signed off on the senator’s tweet last week imploring ABC chair Ita Buttrose to axe Ray Martin’s latest ABC offering, At Home Alone Together. Either way, her Coalition colleagues are keen to see the position filled sooner rather than later.

PREPPED FOR TAKE-OFF

The Alan Joyce-run Qantas was quick to shutter the Qantas Club, Business Class lounge and Chairman’s Lounge (its most exclusive offering) when the pandemic took hold. But the airline is still renewing memberships even while members aren’t flying.

That was great news for federal Labor MP Stephen Jones, who this month had his membership of the Chairman’s extended for a year. Lucky him.

Qantas has flagged its lounges will reopen in the coming months with some changes made to allow for social distancing. It’s even better for the Chairman’s Lounge, which Qantas insiders reckon will be the least impacted by the restrictions. Why? It's so spacious it can handle social distancing rules at a canter.

But there is one possible exception, the Canberra Chairman’s Lounge, which gets busy when the House of Representatives rises on a Thursday and MPs make a dash en masse to return home. Could Qantas be mulling a door list? We hope so.

TOWERS OF POWER

Here’s some real estate news just about everyone saw coming: property giant CBRE has lost its national director, Mark Wizel.

Real estate types have been on high alert for changes inside CBRE even since the firm poached star Sydney agent Simon Rooney from competitor JLL in mid-2019. It was around the same time that Wizel’s Melbourne team was apparently told to focus on smaller assets priced below $75 million, leaving the big-ticket items to Rooney.

An expert in selling shopping centres – some valued into the billions – the well-regarded Rooney was the new big dog at CBRE. Meanwhile, the well-connected Wizel – who owns racehorses with the likes of Crown founder Lloyd Williams, promoter Michael Gudinski and Jayco chair Gerry Ryan – carved out a niche of his own in Melbourne, flogging apartment sites, office blocks and shopping centres with a team of about 15 assembled underneath him.

CBRE has repeatedly refused to respond to questions about the Melbourne team’s $75 million limit. On Monday, Wizel wasn’t hiding his disappointment.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm my employment with CBRE is at an end,” he said. “The company insisted on imposing unacceptable changes to my employment and despite my best efforts they refused to budge.”