The Prater-Wheatley family has received a double boost from Eagers Automotive, which disclosed it made $12 million in rental payments last year for properties owned by the Perth ‘rich listers’.
The Prater-Wheatley family has received a double boost from Eagers Automotive, which disclosed it made $12 million in rental payments last year for properties owned by the Perth ‘rich listers’.
The family’s estimated wealth has also been boosted by a 20 per cent rally in Eagers’ share price today following its annual results release.
The Brisbane-based automotive giant leases multiple properties from APPL Group and related entities, which are controlled by Michelle Prater and other members of the Wheatley family.
The leasing deals stem from Eagers’ 2019 takeover of Perth-based Automotive Holdings Group, which was led by the Wheatley family.
The $12 million paid to entities associated with Ms Prater in 2024 was down from $13.2 million paid in 2023.
Eagers did not disclose the equivalent payments in earlier years because Ms Prater was not considered a related party, even though she has been a non-executive director at Eagers since 2020.
The rental payments are likely to decline further in coming years as Eagers is making a concerted effort to move away from leased properties toward company-owned properties.
The large rental payments to APPL in 2024 will provide a handy boost to the Prater-Wheatley family’s fortune.
The family was ranked at number 21 in Business News’ inaugural WA Rich List, with an estimated worth of $760 million.
The family’s net worth got a substantial boost today when Eagers shares rallied by 20 per cent to $14.93 on the back of the group’s profit report.
That lifted the value of the family’s 14.8 million Eagers shares to $221 million.
The share rally came after Eagers lifted annual sales by 13.6 per cent to $11.2 billion and presented a positive outlook.
Its underlying earnings (EBITDA) rose fractionally to $550 million while its underlying operating profit fell 14 per cent to $371 million.
Despite that, it maintained its final dividend at 50 cents per share.
The result was stronger than other ASX-listed auto companies.
Chief executive Keith Thornton said the group had used the recent period of high demand and low supply to transform the business.
“We are confident we have developed a far more resilient business, able to perform consistently through cycles, while also providing a platform for future growth,” he said.
Looking ahead, he predicted 2025 would be a third year of material growth, with sales tipped to reach about $12.2 billion.
Mr Thornton predicted “continued strong net profit margin performance” from its core business and the opportunity for material improvements from recent acquisitions.
He was also positive on its BYD retail joint venture, which has achieved strong sales of hybrid electric vehicles, and its second-hand vehicle business, easyauto123.
The group highlighted the growth in its company-owned property portfolio, up 48 per cent to $885 million.
The ratio of owned to leased properties increased to 28.5 per cent from 22.5 per cent a year earlier.
Its property portfolio includes a major development on Scarborough Beach Road, where it plans to integrate multiple dealerships on one site.
Ms Prater is not the only Eagers’ director to benefit from large rental payments.
Eagers disclosed it made $4.8 million in rental payments for properties owned by Nick Politis, who is also Eagers’ largest shareholder with 73 million shares.
It made $969,000 in rental payments for properties owned by Marcus Birrell.
