Five decades of involvement in the construction industry has created a sprawling empire of building and property businesses for the Russell family.
Begun by the late Alf Russell in 1965, the Russell Group consists of five major brands, Dominion Constructors, Acrow, the Russell Property Group, Stresscrete and Russell Gordon Contracting, which combined, employ at least 1300 people. The companies take on everything from dairies to luxury apartment buildings.
“At its heart, this is a family business and, as such, its culture reflects family values," Brett Russell told NBR. "We pride ourselves on being down-to-earth, good to deal with and true to our word.”
One of the group’s most recent deals confirms its reputation: in July, the NZ Super Fund agreed to invest NZ$300m into a hotel portfolio established by Russell Group and Lockwood Property Group – the group aims to identify opportunities to bolster rooms available for tourists, particularly in Auckland.
It’s also stepped into the breach where necessary: among the group’s current projects is the troubled Union Green apartment building in Auckland. Intended to be 155 one- to three-bedroom apartments, the project was originally under the control of Ebert Construction before the firm spectacularly went bust last year. Dominion Construction stepped in, with managing director Brett Russell telling NBR last year that it was unusual to take on a contract which had 60% still to go. “If we go too silly, it won’t go ahead so we are just going to declare a flat margin and work with the client to get it resolved,” he said. Dominion hopes the project will be finished in 2020.
Somewhat less dramatically, work on the Russell Property Group’s luxury The International apartment block is nearing completion. The 17-storey, 90-unit apartment in downtown Auckland has attracted some of New Zealand’s most notable businesspeople and sports stars, among others, and its most expensive penthouse apartment sold for an eye-watering $15 million to White House aide expatriate Kiwi Chris Liddell last year. The apartments will have IT support, a small movie theatre, a library, an outdoor heated pool and a wine cellar, among other perks. The building was once the headquarters of Fonterra.
Work is continuing on Waiparuru Hall in Auckland, which will become Auckland University’s newest hall of residence when it opens next year. Its two towers will make up 786 bedrooms.
Another major project, the Four Points by Sheraton hotel on Queen St, opened its doors last year, and is part of a $300 million property portfolio established by the Russell Group together with Steve Lockwood’s company, Lockwood Property Group.
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 Viaduct Harbour next year.
2018: $95 million