LET's hope the pilots in charge of Richard Branson's planes have a slightly better sense of geography and language than V Australia's PR staff.
Invitations were sent to Melbourne media outlets yesterday requesting their attendance at a "photo opportunity" at Melbourne Airport.
V Australia was hard at it, promoting the international airline's direct flights between Australia and South Africa and the arrival of the boss, Sir Richard.
"From Swahili and safari's [sic] to Skippy and surfing," declared the headline on the press release, which provides a rather good example of alliteration, a rather poor example of punctuation, and a miserable attempt at location.
The problem for V Australia is that Swahili is not a South African language. Indeed, the closest international airport to where Swahili is the official language is Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, just a 2460-kilometre hop from Johannesburg Airport, where Sir Richard's V Australia plans to drop Skippy off for his African safari.
It's an unfortunate miss for the V Australia team, given that South Africa has 11 constitutional languages, including Sotho and Swazi, plus scores more indigenous languages and sub-dialects to choose from.
None of which happens to be Swahili.
But such sensitivities have never hindered a Virgin launch and, barring the bikini girls, the arrival of V Australia's flights between Melbourne and South Africa had all the hallmarks of a Branson affair.
The British billionaire touched down at Melbourne Airport aboard one of his flights, accompanied by a plane load of South African journos and, to quote V Australia, "a gaggle of South African and Australian VIP guests".
On arrival, Sir Richard was greeted by a token local politician, in this case Jacinta Allan, Victorian Minister for Industry and Trade, and the local airline boss, in this case Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey.
Let's hope they didn't greet him in Swahili.
Then there was the token picture opportunity for the local media, in this case "Charlie the koala" was brought out for a snapshot. It could have been worse. When Virgin starting flying to Las Vegas, Sir Richard arrived dressed as Elvis.
Given that this PR stunt was billed as "V Australia answers the call of the jungle", it's surprising that Sir Richard didn't arrive dressed as Tarzan.
Of course, V Australia also had to have a dig at the local "code-share monopoly" that Virgin was taking on, in this case the long-standing arrangement between Qantas and South African Airways.
Skippy is OK, it seems, but don't mention flying kangaroos.
If the V Australia PR team is still searching for an alliterative alternative, we suggest "style over substance".
New life for Celtex
THE "clean-up" of the old Celtex, and its rebirth as a listed property manager called Stanfield Funds Management, has been finalised.
Yesterday 50 million new shares in the listed company were issued to Nottingham Funds Management, which was previously called Stanfield Funds Management.
A further placement of 31.5 million raised $378,000, to "meet legacy creditors of the previous Celtex management, and for working-capital purposes".
In other words, the debts of Celtex run up under Ken Roberts have been erased, major creditor Commonwealth Bank has been appeased, and the new management team, led by Darren Olney-Fraser, can get on with turning the company into a listed property manager.
Listed Stanfield has agreed to buy property specialist Australian Public Trustees, a responsible entity of the Government Property Trust. Its portfolio of 12 government-leased properties is valued at about $140 million.
In the words of Olney-Fraser, the share issue was the "final step in my getting the old Celtex cleaned up and reworked as Stanfield, with a clean balance sheet and good shareholder base".
That shareholder base includes Hobart-based Bruce Neill, the founder of Select Managed Funds, which went through a series of mergers and ended up part of IOOF.
Another shareholder is Craig Dunstan, a former managing director of MacarthurCook Industrial Property Fund, who this week joined a shareholder push that could lead to his old employer being wound up.
Bill Bowness, a
non-executive director of Centro Retail Group, has also joined the share registry of Stanfield. Other notable investors include Paul Lappin, the chairman of Peter Rowland Catering, and Chris Milne, formerly an executive with Thiess.
Brokers backing Stanfield include EL & C Baillieu, Shadforth Financial Group and Shaw Stockbroking. Chris Eldridge, an institutional broker with BBY, has joined the Stanfield board.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
What PR mistake did V Australia make when promoting its new flights to South Africa?
The article reports V Australia used a press headline referencing “Swahili and safari” when promoting its Melbourne–South Africa service — a mistake because Swahili is not a South African language. The piece notes Swahili is an official language in parts of East Africa (with Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the closest international city where it’s official), making the wording an embarrassing geographic and cultural slip for the airline’s PR team.
Which route did V Australia launch and who arrived to promote it?
V Australia launched direct flights between Melbourne and South Africa (Johannesburg), and Sir Richard Branson touched down in Melbourne to promote the service. The arrival included a group of South African journalists and VIP guests, plus local figures attending the media photo opportunity.
Who represented Virgin/V Australia and local government at the Melbourne arrival?
On arrival Sir Richard Branson was greeted by Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey and Victorian Minister for Industry and Trade Jacinta Allan, according to the article.
What competitive issue did V Australia raise about the Australia–South Africa market?
The article says V Australia took a public swipe at a perceived “code-share monopoly” in the market, referring to the long-standing arrangement between Qantas and South African Airways that V Australia positioned itself against.
How did Celtex become Stanfield Funds Management and what does that mean for investors?
The article explains the old Celtex was reworked and rebranded as listed property manager Stanfield Funds Management. As part of that rebirth, 50 million new shares were issued to Nottingham Funds Management and a further placement of 31.5 million shares raised $378,000 to address legacy creditors and working capital, leaving the company with a cleaner balance sheet under new management led by Darren Olney-Fraser.
What property assets is Stanfield Funds Management acquiring?
Stanfield has agreed to buy Australian Public Trustees, the responsible entity of the Government Property Trust. That trust’s portfolio comprises 12 government‑leased properties with a combined valuation of about $140 million, according to the article.
How were Celtex’s legacy debts handled in the Stanfield recapitalisation?
The article states the recapitalisation effectively cleared the debts run up under the previous Celtex management (led by Ken Roberts). A placement raised funds to meet legacy creditor claims and working capital needs, and the Commonwealth Bank — a major creditor — was reportedly appeased as part of the clean-up.
Who are the notable shareholders and brokers backing newly listed Stanfield?
The article lists several notable investors and supporters: shareholders include Bruce Neill, Craig Dunstan, Bill Bowness, Paul Lappin and Chris Milne. Brokers and institutional backers named are EL & C Baillieu, Shadforth Financial Group and Shaw Stockbroking, and institutional broker Chris Eldridge of BBY has joined the Stanfield board.
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