Barry and Diane Rissetto certainly know how to pick their timing. They made much of their initial money through the sale of Underground Fashions just before the sharemarket crash in 1987, and their subsequent move into property investment also looks set to pay off, after revealing plans to sell their substantial petrol station property investment.
Through their companies Norak Properties and Gasoline Properties, the Rissettos have built up a lucrative mini-petrol station empire of 23 stations across the North and South Islands. Primarily tenanted by Z Energy, they are in some of the country's most visible locations and reportedly bring in more than $3.5 million in annual rent.
However, the couple recently decided to sell the stations, offering them for sale either individually or in groups. It's unclear how much their estimated worth is, although, given the prime placement of many of them, it's sure to be substantial. Offers on the properties closed late April, and it is understood that 14 have been sold while nine remain on the market.
Norak Properties has had notable moments in the past, including developing a 21,800sq m warehouse at the Port of Timaru. It also built a 5500sq m food warehouse that it leased to Ceres Organics in Mount Wellington; chock full of natural, state of the art design features, it was one of the first in New Zealand to gain a five Green Star rating.
The Rissettos also have a well-known passion for horses. They have stakes in several, while their most successful horse of recent times was O'Marilyn, which cost $130,000 as a yearling and earned $350,000 on the track before being sold to Australian interests.
2018: $125 million