Overview |
Frank Pinner is a property developer based in Western Australia, who has had exclusivity on all building contracts for Retirees WA since the early 2000’s. Mr. Pinner is also the husband of Margaret Thomas (RWA ex-CEO/CFO), and was the business partner of Roger Nicholls (current working relationship unknown). In the early 2000’s, Mr Pinner & Mr Nicholls’ building company, “Samson Homes“, was contracted for the building development of the Joseph Banks Aged Care Facility and Joseph Banks Estate Retirement Village in Canning Vale. Samson Homes was part of Mr. Pinner & Mr. Nicholls’ “Over 55 Lifestyle Villages” group of businesses. In 2005, RWA issued a loan of $1.6M to Over 55 Lifestyle Villages, funded by the RWA Funeral Fund. It is understood that these funds were issued to pay for the Joseph Banks developments. The value of this loan increased in 2006 to $4.4M and peaked in 2008 at $5.8M. As of 2023, $3.6M of this loan is yet to be recovered. At the same time, the management of all RWA lease sales (selling the lease-for-life contracts in RWA villages) was outsourced to “RWA Housing” – a company established by Mr. Pinner and Mr. Nicholls, as part of Over 55s. In 2024, it is understood that RWA Housing continues in this function. In 2006, all RWA village maintenance and management functions were also outsourced, to “Total Retirement Village Maintenance” – another of Mr. Pinner’s companies. This service was to be a 24/7 maintenance request service. By 2008, RWA had resumed managing the retirement villages internally and TRVM ceased to exist. During 2006, Over 55 Lifestyle Villages also received a loan of $1.8M from the RWA Funeral Fund. This loan was secured by a mortgage on the premises at 915 Albany Highway, East Vic Park. RWA subsequently leased office space at this premises from 2006–2023. Upon the sale of the premises at 915 Albany Hwy & repayment of the $1.8M loan in 2016, another of Mr. Pinner’s companies, “One George St Pty Ltd“, was issued a $1.5M loan from the RWA Funeral Fund. This loan was secured by a mortgage over the premises at 930 Albany Highway, East Vic Park, which was originally planned for building development of new RWA offices.
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Note on Samson Homes Pty Ltd
Since its establishment in 2001, Samson Homes Pty Ltd has traded using the following business names:
- Samson Homes
- Built For You
- Built By You
- Greater Value Building Services
From 2002–2004, the company was incorporated under following company name, instead of Samson Homes Pty Ltd:
- Thomas Nicholls Pty Ltd
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Note on Over 55 Lifestyle Villages Pty Ltd
Since its establishment in 2005, Over 55 Lifestyle Villages Pty Ltd has traded using the following business name:
- RWA Housing
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Note on RWA Housing
RWA Housing was established in 2005 as part of Mr. Pinner’s company Over 55 Lifestyle Villages. The business existed to sell the lease-for-life contracts for Retirees WA properties. RWA Housing was operating as the sales management company for Retirees WA until at least 2017.
In 2014 the Related Parties disclosure was added to the RWA Annual Financial Statements, identifying that Over 55 Lifestyle Villages Pty Ltd is owned by the spouse of a key stakeholder at RWA (eg. Margaret Thomas’ husband Frank Pinner owns Over 55, the recipient of the $5.8M loan).
This declaration of potential conflict of interest had not been previously declared in financial statements, despite the original loan being issued in 2005.
An article in The West Australian in June, 2006, reported that RWA Board Finance Sub-Committee Members were extremely concerned with the lack of disclosure and the investment itself.
In May 2023 the trading name “RWA Housing” was newly registered to Over 55 Lifestyle Villages Pty Ltd.
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Australasian Group Investments Pty Ltd |
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Note on Australasian Group Investments Pty Ltd
It was revealed in the Retirees WA 2024 Annual Financial Statement that Margaret Thomas received her CEO/CFO salary as consulting fees paid to this company (p.27 – Note 23: Related Party Transactions).
Ms. Thomas was appointed as a Director of Australasian Group Investments Pty Ltd in 2021.
In complaints as far back as 2003, Roger Nicholls was listed as a Director of Australasian Group Investments Pty Ltd. It is unclear when he ceased as a Director.
In September 2024, Australasian Group Investments Pty Ltd lodged a application with ASIC for voluntary deregistration.
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Australian Importers Pty Ltd |
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Note on Australian Importers Pty Ltd
Since its establishment in 2008, Australian Importers Pty Ltd has traded using the following business names:
- Australian Importers
- Transportable Instant Accommodations
- Wholesale Construction Products
Ross Fenn (Margaret Thomas’ brother) is the General Manager of Australian Importers.
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Dalerose Nominees Pty Ltd |
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Note on Dalerose Nominees Pty Ltd
Since its establishment in 2004, Dalerose Nominees Pty Ltd has traded using the following business names:
- Total Retirement Village Maintenance
- Total Retirement Village Management
- Aurora Electrical Services
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