A glittering asset
IT’S not often a commercial property can be said to be worth its weight in gold – but this Miami asset breaks the mould.
That’s because the building on the corner of Paradise Ave and Avalon Pde hosts precious metals trader Gold Bullion Australia.
The company holds millions and millions of dollars worth of gold, silver and platinum on behalf of customers in the building’s vaults as bars, coins, or in other forms.
The business was launched in 1980 by Ed Slabbert and taken over in 2008 by Lisa Casagrande, a retired soccer player who played at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1995 and 1999.
She has taken a step back from the business and passed the reins to director Scott McRae.
It is the reason the building has hit the market through James Crawford and Ryan Chandler, of Colliers International.
The asset, which will be auctioned on May 15, is leased by Gold Bullion until 2023 with options until 2043.
It has a floor area of 741sq m, has recently been refitted and renovated, and has stateof-the-art security.
Sales manager Sarah Hogwood said the business did better when world events unbalanced sentiment.
“It is a flight to safety,” Ms Hogwood said.
“When the sharemarket is choppy, or something like Brexit happens, all of a sudden the price of gold goes up. People want that solid asset.”
Ms Hogwood said buyers of precious metals came from all walks of life, including tradies, teens, and retirees.
“Older people are more exposed to it. Since the beginning of time, gold is the only asset valued the world over that people understand and respect,” she said.
“People come to us to hold some bullion so they diversify their assets away from cash in the bank.”
Coins were popular, particularly with the Chinese and Indian communities, who often gave coins as gifts during Chinese New Year and Diwali.
She said people often started with buying silver because it was cheaper than gold and platinum.
A 1kg bar will set you back about $750.
Ms Hogwood said the price of gold “fluctuated constantly” depending on its spot price.
“However, over a long period of time, say 10 or 15 years, it has risen in value by 10 per cent.”
She said in recent times the price of gold and silver had been relatively stable.
“But the interesting thing at the moment is that the gold-to-silver ratio is really high. But what economists are saying is that the price of silver is expected to go up massively. They are say it is really low-priced compared to gold.”