WO R K > O C
CO N S U LT I N G
SELLING TRUST OC Consultancy Ltd brings a change of mindset to traditional investment strategies. WO R DS N I CK Y ADAM / PH OTOS JA H L MAR S H ALL
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efore making any investment decision, Owen Cooney uses what he calls the “mum test”: “I ask myself if this is something I would want my mother involved in – if the answer is no, then I walk away.” A partner at Tauranga-based law firm Cooney Lees Morgan (CLM) since the 1980s, Owen was founding partner of the firm’s hugely successful property development division. In the later stages of his legal career, Owen was responsible for putting together groups to acquire premium property assets. Not only did he enjoy this, but he also saw the benefits that could be gained. As his appetite increased, Owen’s career saw a shift in direction, and after retiring as a partner from CLM in 2020, he decided to continue with what had developed into a passion project. Establishing OC Consultancy Ltd at the end of 2021 seemed like the next natural step in a journey that had really started as far back as 2011 when the family had been keen to purchase an investment property for their mother. “When we started looking around, we couldn’t see anything that we considered premium in that circa $2 million range. That led us to the conclusion that looking in the $10 million-plus range took us out of the ruck and above a lot of the private buyers. There was less competition, and at that price we found a different level of building.” However, to achieve this price range collaboration with other like-minded people was required.
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When it came to starting up the consultancy, Owen already had an established client base, most of whom would have known or dealt with him over his many years at Cooney Lees Morgan. It also provided an opportunity to set up a joint venture business with his old client Classic Group (his brother Pete being the founding Director), thus the creation of Classic Collectives Ltd (classiccollectives.co.nz). However, part of the business model for OCC is the idea of bringing investment opportunities to a bracket who hitherto may not have looked to large commercial investment as a viable option. Those without large financial resources to invest might not have considered or even been aware of this type of opportunity. “Traditionally, young Kiwis wanting to build a bit of wealth for themselves have bought a rental property. In the early 2000s, there was a real boom in the concept of residential property investments – that’s been the formula for generations of Kiwis. But now it’s not quite the same; residential property has increased by 40 percent in the past 18 months, raising the deposit has become too hard for a lot of people, and the government has taken off the tax deductibility. Plus, there’s the complexity now of the tenancy laws. So, owning a private rental property is less attractive and quite hard for a lot of people.” Commercial investment, on the other hand, requires something of a mindset change, as does the concept
