THE BRAND BUILDER
Tim Gurner Founder, Gurner
WHAT HE’S KNOWN FOR: Although he only founded his eponymous property development company in 2013, Tim Gurner already has a mostly residential project pipeline worth more than $3 billion, with developments under construction in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and, he says, “hopefully Perth this year if we can sort out some things”. His track record suggests he will prevail: with his wealth calculated at $460 million, Gurner entered the
BRW Rich 200 list at No.141 in 2016, aged 34. WHERE HE CAME FROM: Gurner’s father was a structural engineer and landscape architect and his uncle was in property trusts so “there’s always been a bit of property and design in the family”, he says. His entrepreneurial spirit took flight at 19, when he started
a gym in Melbourne’s Elwood. “Six months later, my dad passed away. It was a pretty horrible period but also set the tone for my whole life. I’d taken out a $150,000 loan for a business with no assets and I had no choice but to work until it worked.” Gurner sold the gym to a competitor within two years then approached Melbourne property developer and publisher Morry Schwartz.
“I managed to get a coffee with him and started the next day. He was a very big developer at the time with a real point of difference. I loved everything he was doing.”
WHAT HE WANTS TO ACHIEVE: “We want to be in areas where the majority of the demographic is between 25 and 40 so they have to be vibrant locations next to cafés, restaurants and bars. We do a lot in St Kilda, Elwood, Fitzroy and Collingwood in Melbourne; Fortitude Valley in Brisbane; and Alexandria in Sydney. They are up-and-coming industrial areas with cool art galleries, bars and nightlife. We’re really trying to create a luxury brand more than a development business.”
WHAT HE’S LEARNT: “The biggest lesson would be not locking in builders before you go to the market. For example, with a development in Brisbane, we had a $40 million rise in construction price. Obviously, that was very stressful but – and it sounds corny – I absolutely love what we do so a lot of the stress is excitement. We’re fairly conservative and we’ve got enough on now that if one or two projects don’t work, the other five will.”
WHAT HE BELIEVES: “I’ve spent a lot of time in New York and London looking at development in detail. I think Australian developers do it as well, if not better, than anywhere. In New York there might be six big developers and in Melbourne there might be 50 so it’s a lot more competitive. Australia is doing an amazing job leading the way in terms of renders, marketing, product and architecture. I pick up the paper every Saturday and look at all the other developers’ ads in Melbourne and think, ‘Jeez, that’s a bloody good-looking project.’ Melbourne is very sophisticated in the way it markets and produces developments.”