[+] Bert Dennis: A Legacy of Learning

Somewhat bemusingly Bert Dennis still feels the need to explain he’s playing the long game. In April, he turned 88. Still overseeing one of Australia’s largest privately owned residential developers, he is the inaugural recipient of The Urban Developer Lachlan Webb Lifetime Achievement Award. From budding civil engineer at the City of Chelsea in Melbourne’s south to Dennis Family Corporation patriarch nurturing a third generation, it has been an equally long and, sometimes, steep learning curve. That remarkable journey is something he hopes will now pave the way for his 11 grandchildren, three of whom are already working in the business. For their eyes only, Dennis has compiled a 6cm-thick dossier he calls his “guiding principles”. ▲ Bert Dennis and his wife, Dawn, [ both centre ] with their four children [ from left ] Grant, Natalie, Marshall and Adele. It is a compendium distilling the lessons he has learnt and the knowledge he has gained across six decades that have underpinned the growth and success of the family’s diversified business. Not only has it developed thousands of hectares of land into residential communities and built tens of thousands of homes but it also has retail, farming as well as overseas investment interests. “It’s a complicated business and it’s getting more and more complicated on a day-to-day basis,” he says. “So I thought if I can impart those guiding principles on to the grandchildren, by the time they’re 30 they’ll have a very good idea how business works rather than getting to the stage of 65 or 70 and then starting to understand how everything works. “And it’ll give them a hell of an advantage.” All that Dennis would reveal to The Urban Developer of his tome of guiding principles was its three-page table of contents. Understanding Market Cycles, Profit Phases, Taxation and Stamp Duty, Bank Borrowing and Interest Rate Hedging, JVs and DAs, Gearing Land, Critical Success Factors, Dennis Family Moat, Long Term Strategy and Structure, Competitive Advantage, Philanthropic and Charitable Donations, and The Purpose of Wealth. From these section titles—just to name a few—it appears to be quite a forensic manual. And if Dennis were ever inclined to publish his words of sage advice on the machinations, market forces and moral values for doing business—essentially the secrets to his survival and success—it would surely be a bestseller. But don’t hold your breath. As The Urban Developer founder Adam Di Marco discovered in conversation with the development stalwart at Urbanity, its three-day annual conference on the Gold Coast, what happens in the Dennis family, stays in the Dennis family. ▲ Bert Dennis on stage with The Urban Developer’ s Adam Di Marco during Urbanity 23. Cheekily, Di Marco asked Dennis how much a copy of his guiding principles would cost. “Best of luck, Adam,” was the wry reply from the sharp-as-a-tack octogenarian. All about family From tragic and humble beginnings, it has always been about family for Dennis … well, and sport. He still plays tennis three times a week. As a schoolboy in Melbourne’s north-east, however, it was hitting home runs on the baseball field that would set him on the path to one day establishing one of Australia’s largest greenfield development and home building companies. Dennis lost his father, George—who was psychologically scarred from fighting in Europe during World War I and committed suicide—when he was aged just 3 years. Raising five children on her own, his mother, Coy, was determined to keep the family together. They lived an itinerant life, moving throughout regional Victoria—sometimes living in a tent on the banks of the Murray River—to avoid her children being taken into state care. By the time Dennis was aged 13, he had lived in 15 different houses. He attended 19 different schools before graduating at 21. So impoverished was his upbringing that he did not get his first pair of shoes until he was 8 or a pair of underpants until he was 13. It is only in recent years Dennis has spoken openly about the tough and turbulent years of his early life. “Life was very bloody tough—very tough for mum, she had five children under 10 and no government assistance whatsoever. “But I wouldn’t change a moment of it. It was character building. I had to learn to fend for myself and that makes you very determined, resilient and capable.” ▲ Determined: Bert Dennis with his mother, Coy, and wife, Dawn. His only ambition as a youngster was to become a member of Victoria’s under-17 schoolboy baseball team but to qualify he had to continue into senior school and do a diploma course. Without any intention of it becoming a career path, Dennis chose to study civil engineering. Halfway through the course he had not only made the baseball side but was its captain. Having made it that far through his studies he decided he “might as well finish” and then—after a short stint working as a labourer “to build up muscles to impress the chicks”—he was on his way, initially working in council civil engineering jobs. Within a few years, however, he had branched out into the private sector in a consultancy partnership, which by the mid-1960s he owned outright. He began small-scale land development on Melbourne’s fringe, providing the foundations for the family business. In the ensuing years, the family business has developed about 30,000 lots and built as many homes. It currently has a landbank of 18,000 lots in Victoria and south-east Queensland—including its largest project to date, the 750ha Manor Lakes it began developing in Melbourne's west in 2002, that still has a 10 to 15-year pipeline of development. Dennis was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2005 for his services to the housing industry, the community through contributing to the debate on urban planning and his support to charitable organisations. His four children—Grant, Adele, Marshall and Natalie—are directors of the family business and its various entities. “When the children came into the business I said I don’t want you to work for me I want you to work with me … and they now own as much of the business as what I do. “In all my life I’ve been driven by trying to do the very best I can at all times ... and I think what we’ve managed to create is absolutely unique. “But I had no intention of building a big business … it was more just a means of making money to support the family. I never set my sights on becoming wealthy. “My priorities in life have always been my own health first—because if I have a nervous breakdown or die I can’t look after my family—family second, sport third and business fourth.” ▲ In January 2005, Bert was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division. ‘By nature, I’m an optimist’ He says what still excites him is “helping people get into their own house-and-land packages” although he concedes the challenges the industry is currently grappling with are making the delivery of affordable homes more difficult. Given his early background and having weathered his share of property cycles, however, it should come as no surprise that Dennis deems things are only “a bit tough at the moment”. He has been through much worse. Even with the prevailing economic uncertainty and volatility in the market, the Dennis family is still delivering about 1000 homes a year. “There are dark clouds coming in. We haven’t seen the end of this cycle yet by any means. But by nature, I’m an optimist.” Asked from his lifetime of experience what advice he would have given to the “young Bert”, Dennis does not hesitate: “Marry the right person”. And there is no doubt he did just that when he slipped a wedding ring on the finger of wife Dawn back in 1958. “Dawn has been the absolute rock of our family,” Dennis said in accepting his lifetime achievement award to a standing ovation. “And without her support none of this would have been possible.” ▲ Bert and Dawn Dennis with son Grant and Adam Di Marco at The Urban Developer Awards for Industry Excellence—Bert was named the inaugural recipient of The Urban Developer Lachlan Webb Lifetime Achievement Award. You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

[+] Bert Dennis: A Legacy of Learning

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