From boom to bust
ENTREPRENEUR AWASH WITH DEBT
THE real estate venture of high-flying young Ocean Grove entrepreneur Taylor Dow has gone bust two years after it was set up.
The Taylor Dow Property Group — which reportedly sold $2 billion in property last year — now has a significant list of creditors.
Director Taylor Dow — who masterminded a tea business turning over $10,000 a week in 2014, when he was aged just 17 — put the property group into liquidation last month.
Mr Dow said on his Facebook page in January he was “coming for” the BRW Rich List and photos of an expensive sports car and a tropical holiday appeared to show him living the high life.
In a statement to the Geelong Advertiser Mr Dow, now aged in his early 20s, said the property group was put into liquidation after developers failed to pay him the money he was owed.
“I’m disappointed because two developers did not pay me a large amount of funds so I was left with no option,” he said.
“I have been screwed over by a number of people who have owed me money.”
Forensic accountants Worrells will wind up Mr Dow’s business, which was registered with corporate regulator ASIC in 2015.
It is understood Taylor Dow Property Group paid commissions of up to 15 per cent to financial advisers and mortgage brokers recommending its products.
Reports suggest the company sold Australian property to buyers in seven countries, including China and the US, with commissions ranging from 5 to 15 per cent.
Mr Dow, who has claimed to have 27 agents in Melbourne, said the company could offer high commission by passing on the bulk of the marketing budget that construction groups allocate to apartment blocks of between 100 and 400 dwellings.
In May, Mr Dow said he had been “operating under the radar” when advertising the work of construction company Avenue Build in Geelong, Drysdale and Torquay.
Earlier this year Mr Dow ran an advertisement for a sales staff member for his Port Melbourne-based business.
“I’m looking for a sales person to join our team. Must be above average and a closing machine. If you can’t sell, don’t apply. We are after someone who will hustle, close deals, work harder than anyone else and loves to make money,” Mr Dow said on Facebook.
Last year Mr Dow boasted of a trip to New York and Los Angeles to launch “massive projects”.
In 2014 Mr Dow’s weightloss tea was investigated by the Department of Health after complaints by medical experts.
At the time Mr Dow said the tea was organic and had a natural formula.
“It took 2½ months to come up with the right blend. A lot of (diet teas) are diuretics so it took a while to ensure ours wasn’t,” he said.