Steve Lockwood netted a reported $30 million and the title of most expensive house sale last year when his Auckland waterfront property was bought by marina tycoon Simon Herbert.
Lockwood made his fortune from helping to turn Crombie Lockwood into one of the country’s largest independent commercial insurance brokers, with annual turnover of more than $100 million.
It was sold to ASX-listed conglomerate Wesfarmers in 2007 for an undisclosed sum, then onsold again to NYSE-listed Arthur J Gallagher in 2014.
Steve Lockwood remains managing director of the company’s Australasian businesses but, as one of Crombie Lockwood’s largest shareholders, he also made a tidy profit that allowed him to build up a property portfolio worth more than $100m, mostly held in trust arrangements.
One of those properties was 15 Cremorne St in Auckland’s Herne Bay. It featured a boat-shed, helicopter pad, pool overlooking the waterfront and beachfront access.
Lockwood bought it in 2009 for $12.5m off Ross Munro, when his Line 7 clothing empire went into liquidation.
Lockwood also has residential interests in Waiheke Island, Taupo, Papamoa and Lake Tarawera along with the 28ha Motukiekie Island in the Bay of Islands, a $5.1m retreat he bought in 2001 for $2.5m.
More recently he has made a significant investment in what was the second stage of Queenstown’s Five Mile development that emerged from the wreckage of Christchurch developer Dave Henderson and Hanover Finance in 2008.
A company owned by Lockwood and Carl O’Shea, also a former Crombie Lockwood shareholder, owns a 23.3ha development block on the opposite side of Grant Rd, next to Five Mile. It has plans to turn it into a mixed-use development with commercial and residential properties. In May 2016, a listed Singapore company snapped up a 3.84ha block on the site for $19.2m.
Lockwood’s private investment group is also a long-standing investment partner with another Rich List family, the Russells.
Together, they own a $300 million property portfolio, including the Four Points by Sheraton hotel on Queen Street, which opened its doors last year.
Other hotels in the portfolio include the Adina Auckland Britomart and the BreakFree Hotel in Christchurch. The 150-room QT Auckland is the group’s latest project, and is due to open in the Viaduct Harbour next year. Both groups hope to acquire and develop more sites, and announced in July they were partnering with the NZ Super Fund to do so.
The Super Fund’s head of direct investments, Will Goodwin, said at the time the fund was keen to invest in the tourism sector, which faced capacity constraints due to its rapid growth. Steve Lockwood said a major motivation for the deal was the “significant opportunity” for future growth in the sector.
Lockwood’s hobbies include classic cars and last year he bought a 1934 Bugatti Type 57 Gangloff Roadster that once belonged to the late Kiwi engineering legend Bob Turnbull.
2018: $120 million