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Investors name 5 biggest barriers to financial goals

Australian investors say housing costs, goods inflation and slow wage growth are the main barriers to achieving their financial goals, according to a survey. Their biggest goals in order of importance are retiring and living off their investments, supplementing their work income with investment income, funding holidays and travel, cutting back on their hours of work and buying a home.

Online trading platform Stake surveyed more than 2,000 Australian investors for a comprehensive report about their ambitions this year. The report concluded that the biggest barriers to financial goals reflected a broader problem, being that salary and wages are not keeping up with rises in the cost of living, including property prices and weekly rents.

Australians say the biggest barriers to achieving their financial goals are as follows.

 

Housing costs

Saving a deposit is one of the biggest hurdles for first home buyers today, with most workers unable to save fast enough to keep up with rising home values. The median Australian home price rose by $59,000 over FY24 while rents increased by 7.3 percent over the same period. CoreLogic data shows rents have risen by almost 40 percent over the past five years. Stake CEO, Jon Howie said: “In Australia, over the past 30 years, house prices have risen by an average of 8 percent per annum, compared to around 3 percent for wages …”.

 

Goods inflation

 Since the pandemic, rising inflation has significantly increased the cost of goods and services. At its peak, inflation hit 7.8 percent per annum in the December quarter of 2022, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). By that time, the cost of petrol had risen 13.2 percent over the year and fruit and vegetables were up 12.6 percent. Higher interest rates are now working to bring the rate of inflation down. But this only means the cost of goods and services is rising at a slower pace. For example, petrol prices rose by another 7.7 percent in FY24. Services inflation is higher, with insurance up 14 percent over FY24 and electricity up 6 percent (although without government rebates it would have been 14.6 percent higher).

 

Slow wage growth

This week the ABS published an updated Wage Price Index report, which found wages rose by 0.8 percent over the June quarter while inflation rose by 1 percent. Over FY24, wages rose by 4.1 percent and inflation rose by 3.8 percent. Once again, higher interest rates are bringing the rate of inflation down now. However, when inflation was at its peak of 7.8 percent in December 2022, wage growth was well below this at 3.3 percent.

 

Costs of supporting a family

ABS data documenting how inflation is affecting various household types found employee households, which include working families, are worst affected. The ABS Living Cost Index for employee households rose by 6.2 percent in FY24 compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.8 percent. A recent report from KPMG found rising living costs were impacting family formation. KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said: “With the current rise in living expenses applying pressure on household finances, many Australians have decided to delay starting or expanding their families.”

 

Unfair tax system

 While the Stake report did not specify which taxes survey respondents felt were unfair, there is ongoing debate in the community about tax breaks given to property investors. Negative gearing is very common among Australian landlords, with rental income not typically enough to cover holding costs, including interest on an investment loan. Landlords are able to deduct this loss against other taxable income, such as their salaries. Investors also pay tax on only 50 percent of their capital gains when they sell an asset if they have held the asset for more than 12 months.

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Nike Is In, Tech Stocks Are Out. What These Big Investors Are Buying and Selling.

Hedge funds and other big investment fund managers shifted out of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks in the second quarter and took on new stakes in a variety of stocks in the healthcare and consumer sectors.

For example, activist investor Nelson Peltz didn’t exit his stake in Walt Disney entirely, but it was substantially lower compared with the first quarter after he lost his proxy battle at the entertainment company.

Instead, Peltz’s Trian Fund Management took on new stakes in Solventum , the healthcare company spun off from 3M in April, and U-Haul, the storage and moving company, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management reported a new 6 million-share stake in Southwest Airlines as of June 30. The fund this week started a proxy battle at the carrier, with plans to nominate a slate of directors to largely replace the board.

And Pershing Square Capital’s Bill Ackman, who recently withdrew a planned initial public offering of a $2 billion closed-end fund, reported new stakes in apparel maker Nike and investment management firm Brookfield Corp.

The regulatory filings reflect investment manager holdings as of the end of June, and portfolios may have shifted since then.

Trian Fund Management

Peltz’s Trian Fund Management reported 2.65 million shares of Disney as of June 30, down from 32 million in March. It reported a new 5.36 million share stake in Solventum and a nearly 1.3 million-share stake in U-Haul in two different share classes.

Trian reported no stake in food services company Sysco , compared with 1.2 million shares in March.

Elliott Investment Management

Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management snapped up nearly 8 million shares of the dating platform Match, doubled its stake in craft marketplace Etsy to 4.5 million shares, and bought about 500,000 more shares of communications firm Liberty Broadband to bring its total to just under 2.2 million.

Soros Capital

Soros Capital, the family office for billionaire George Soros, made a cryptocurrency play in the second quarter, taking on new stakes in Bitcoin mining-related companies.

Soros reported a new 2.3 million-share position in Bitcoin mining firm Terawulf and a new 1.5 million-share stake in Core Scientific, another Bitcoin miner. It took a new 1.3 million share stake in Iris Energy , a Bitcoin miner that operates data centers using renewable energy.

Soros took a smaller new 32,000 share stake in Portillo’s, a fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in Chicago-style hot dogs and the Italian beef sandwiches popularized in the Hulu series The Bear.

On the flip side, Soros cut or eliminated stakes in most of the Magnificent Seven stocks. It reported no holdings of Nvidia , Advanced Micro Devices , and Microsoft and smaller holdings in Amazon , Meta Platforms , and Netflix compared with the first quarter. It also reported no holdings of Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk as of June 30, compared with a 77,000-share stake in March.

Pershing Group

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital snapped up a new 7 million-share stake in Brookfield Corp.and 3 million shares of Nike. Pershing reported smaller holdings of Chipotle Mexican Grill , Alphabet , and Hilton Worldwide compared with its first quarter filing. It reported $10.4 billion of assets.

Baupost

Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group reduced its holdings of Alphabet by more than 60%, leaving it with just under 3 million shares. It also shed some 2 million shares of fintech firm Fidelity National Information Services and more than 3 million shares of Liberty Media ’s SiriusXM Group.

Baupost’s biggest new stake reported among its $3.6 billion in holdings was 420,000 shares of healthcare company Humana . It also picked up 1  million shares of Capri Holdings , the fashion group that owns Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors, and 1.8 million shares of healthcare company Solventum.

Starboard

Activist investment firm Starboard Value, which is run by Jeff Smith and reported $4.3 billion in assets, nearly halved its shares of healthcare company Humana to 507,000 from 906,000 in the prior quarter.

It also slashed its holdings in GoDaddy by nearly 2 million to 4.6 million. Its biggest purchase was 2.7 million shares of clinical research firm Fortrea to a total of 8 million shares.

Third Point

Dan Loeb’s Third Point disclosed several new stakes in the second quarter, including 1.95 million shares of Apple and 2.8 million shares in communications firm Amphenol . Third Point maintained its 5.1 million-share stake in Amazon.

Greenlight Capital

With $2 billion under management, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital reported a new stake in Peloton of 6.8 million shares. It also upped its shares of pharmaceutical firm Viatris by 2.9 million shares to 7.4 million and doubled down its stake in HP Inc to 3.37 million shares.

It also reported new investments in fashion firm Capri Holdings and media conglomerate IAC of 700,000 and 300,000 shares, respectively.

It reported no position in clean energy firm Net Power, compared with 2 million shares in March. It also reported no holdings in Johnson & Johnson spinoff Kenvue , which sells Aveeno, Band-Air, Tylenol, and other consumer health brands. It held 710,000 Kenvue shares in March.

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From French Chateau to Rugged Coastal Farmhouse: The Unexpected Transformation of a South Australian Home

There’s a scene at the end of the 2023 hit film Saltburn where the lead character, Oliver, dances naked through the house that gives the film its name, moving from room to room via a series of perfectly aligned doorways.

It’s an arresting sequence choreographed to Sophie Eliis-Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor. You wouldn’t think that a house like that, first built in the 1300s and modified in the 1700s, would not have anything in common with a newly completed farmhouse on the rugged coastal landscape outside the town of Carrickalinga on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia.

But you’d be wrong.

It’s true, says architect Mladen Zujic from Architects Ink, that the owners of this modest-looking farmhouse initially had their hearts set on something grander and more recognisably European when they first approached his firm.

“The first few images they gave us were of a French neo classical chateau,” he says. “We said maybe we weren’t the best architects for this, so in the beginning, we declined it.”

However, they kept talking, about their past, their family backgrounds and their experience of being on this piece of land characterised by sandstone outcrops and strong winds.

“One of the owners was from the Blue Mountains in NSW and she had memories from that time of living in the landscape,” Zujic says. “They had camped on this site quite a bit and they came to realise they wanted something more permanent.”

It was easy to see the attraction of a site with such untamed beauty, even if it did present significant barriers to creating a permanent, welcoming home.

“The site is defined by soft high hills adjacent to the beach and there are deep valleys and crevices which create these wind tunnels,” he says. “As much as the site is amazing, you feel like you are above the clouds, where, over hundreds and thousands of years, the winds have blown away a lot of the soil and it’s very rocky.”

Designing a house that would be able to manage the unforgiving conditions without feeling — or looking — like a bunker became the main focus. Which is where the Saltburn references start making more sense.

In pitching the design concept to the owners, Zujic turned to a painting by 17th century Dutch artist Emanuel de Witte, Interior with a Woman Playing a Virginal. The artist, renowned for his architectural interiors, captures a space, much like the manor house in Saltburn, where rooms are connected directly by a series of doorways, without the use of corridors. It was exactly what Zujic intended for the Carrickalinga house, where no space was wasted and connectivity reigned.

“Even though there are rooms and the division of space is apparent, there is a sequence to it, like in the Dutch painting,” he says. “The house also gets more private as you get away from the public areas like the dining room and kitchen space.

“On the right, there’s a library and maybe a kids’ room and then the master suite at the bottom. It is an economical and efficient type of construction.”

Rather than the typical farmhouse design, which involves a long, thin, dwelling facing north, this house is a perfect square — with the centre removed. It solved a problem common to homes trying to manage heat and light in the harsh Australian climate which often suffer from a lack of light at the centre.

“We took a typical pitched roof and we took the dark heart out of it,” Zujic says. “The winds there are up to 220km an hour so we created a central courtyard, inverted the house and put the veranda on the inside.

“It fortified the house against the wind.”

An inverted roofline helps control access to natural light throughout the year, shading the house from the worst in summer and letting the light and heat in during winter.

Given its location, bushfire prevention is  also a key consideration. A series of sliding steel shutters allows the house to be locked down when needed while the simplified roofline hinders the accumulation of leaf litter, which would provide fuel for ember attacks.

The design means that the occupants live on the perimeter and in constant connection to the natural environment, whether it is the rugged, uncompromising coastline, or the protected micro climate of the internal courtyard.

“Ninety percent of the year the owners circulate from room to room from the inside courtyard,” he says. “The dining room has glazing that can slide back and open up to the view if they want to pull the breeze in. It acts a bit like the lungs of the courtyard.”

Instead of assigning purposes to each room, Zujic says they have been deliberately designed to be as flexible as possible, with the bare minimum of fittings and fixtures.

“The owners were keen on a commercial kitchen but we talked them out of fixing almost anything to the wall,” he says. “The bookshelves are freestanding and we put everything we could on castors.

“It’s more like a gallery approach than a traditional house so that if you change your ideas on how you can use the space, you can move it around.”

The simplified style also suited the owners’ decision to build the house themselves.

“We tried to keep it as simple as possible because the owner was building it himself,” he says. “It’s not the best built house — it has a certain roughness. It’s built from the heart, not from the ruler.”

In a house like this, even apparent mishaps become part of the story.

“When they poured the slab, they had a kangaroo hop across it and they asked me: ‘what do we do now?’,” says Zujic.

“I said: ‘you leave it there and accept the things that happen.’

Credits: Photographer Thurston Empson  Aerial Photographer Corey Roberts

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Singapore Upgrades Full-Year Economic Outlook

SINGAPORE—Singapore’s economic outlook seems brighter, as resilience in external demand and a recovery in the key electronics sector helps guard against headwinds elsewhere, the trade ministry said as it adjusted the city-state’s growth forecast for the year.

The Singapore economy grew 2.9% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to revised data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry released on Tuesday. That matched the advance estimate compiled in July and compared with growth of 3.0% in the first quarter.

For the first half of the year, growth averaged 3.0%, the data showed.

Taking into account the performance of the Singapore economy in the first half, as well as global and domestic economic factors, MTI updated its full-year growth forecast to 2.0% to 3.0% from 1.0% to 3.0%.

Expansion in the April-to-June period was driven mainly by the wholesale trade, finance & insurance, and information & communications sectors, the ministry said. The manufacturing sector—a key engine of the economy—shrank in the quarter, largely due to a sharp fall in the volatile pharmaceuticals segment, the data showed. On the bright side, electronics returned to growth, backed by strong demand for smartphones, PCs and AI-related chips, it added.

“Singapore’s external demand outlook is expected to be resilient for the rest of the year. However, downside risks in the global economy remain,” the MTI said.

How other global trading partners fare is key for the trade-reliant economy of Singapore, which is well-placed to benefit from the global tech cycle upturn but exposed to downturns abroad.

A potential headwind could come from a slight slowdown in the U.S. economy, where MTI expects consumption growth to ease as the labor market softens. Growth in other advanced economies like the European Union and Japan is tipped to pick up, however.

Among Singapore’s major trading partners in Asia, MTI sees a slight slowdown in China in the second half of the year as investment growth tapers but thinks the property market will stabilize as government support measures kick in, boosting consumer sentiment. Growth in key Southeast Asian economies is projected to pick up slightly in the second half of the year as domestic demand strengthens, aided further by recoveries in global electronics and tourism demand.

Risks that could put the brakes on Singapore’s economic momentum include geopolitical and trade conflicts, which could hurt business sentiment and drive up production costs. Disruptions to the global disinflation process meanwhile could lead to higher for longer rates and trigger market volatility, MTI said.

“Against this backdrop, Singapore’s manufacturing sector is expected to see a gradual recovery in the second half of the year,” MTI said, expecting electronics to recover strongly.

Singapore’s GDP grew 0.4% on a quarter-over-quarter seasonally adjusted basis in the second quarter, the revised data showed. That matched both the advance estimate for the quarter, and was steady from the 0.4% expansion seen in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, data in a separate release from Enterprise Singapore showed that the city-state’s total merchandise trade expanded by 10% on the year in the second quarter, surging from the 4.8% growth seen in the first quarter.

Non-oil domestic exports slid 6.4% in the second quarter from a high base a year ago, widening the 3.4% decrease seen in the previous quarter, the data showed. Shipments of pharmaceuticals dragged on the results, but electronics grew for the first time in eight quarters.

Enterprise Singapore expects total trade to be supported by high oil prices, and the electronics recovery in the latter half of the year to boost exports, driven by demand in AI servers and consumer devices. Key downside risks for the NODX forecast remain, including a weaker-than-expected recovery in the final months of the year.

“Taking the above into consideration, the 2024 growth forecasts are narrowed to +5.0% to +6.0% for total merchandise trade and to +4.0% to +5.0% for NODX, from the earlier forecasts of +4.0% to +6.0% for both,” it said.

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From Star Trek Memorabilia to Diana’s Dresses. He’s Gavelling in the Next Generation of Auction Buyers.

A fury of fast and frequent bidding appeared to take auctioneer Kody Frederick by surprise at June sale of Princess Diana’s dresses and other memorabilia from the royal family

At one point, the bidding for a Catherine Walker evening gown worn by the late Princess of Wales blew past an original estimate of US$100,000 to US$200,000, topping out at US$450,000 with Frederick ultimately calling it “a moment of moments.”

“You have to give people a minute to breathe when you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars per bid,” he says about the auction.

That event continued to rack up records, including the US$910,000 sale of another dress, and it demonstrated not only a rise in the relevance of cultural memorabilia as a category, but Frederick’s quick ascent among auctioneers.

Although on the younger side of the current auctioneer crop, at age 40, and with just two years of experience with gavel in hand, Frederick is finding himself running sales in new categories and welcoming in a new set of auction buyers.

“So much of this stuff has never come to auction, so it really is a first time [opportunity],” he says.

Frederick, who is based in Los Angeles, is not a career showperson. Prior to attending auctioneering school in Indiana, he was working in production for Disney+, and didn’t even have auctioneering on his radar until a colleague suggested he check out the profession while looking for work. He joined Julien’s in April 2020.

“My start date was supposed to be the day California went into lockdown, but it was delayed a month because of that,” he says.

Frederick ran his first auction in September 2021, selling low-value music memorabilia in a largely empty room where the top-selling item (a commemorative guitar) went for US$2,880.

“Ninety percent of our bidding takes place online, so being able to communicate to online bidders in the moment is always the challenge,” he says. “Creating the sense of excitement is challenging, and the personality is more important than the medium.”

He would continue to work his way up through various Julien’s sales until he found himself selling a signed Banksy painting in March 2023. The item was the marquee lot of a larger contemporary art sale, and had an original estimate of US$600,000 to US$800,000. The hammer price topped out at just over US$2 million.

“We had bidders in the room and put an event around it,” he says.

Frederick says it’s important to see in the room who’s bidding and in which order the bids are coming in, especially in high-value, high-volume sales.

Frederick leads a sale of music memorabilia at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York.
Courtesy of Julien’s Auctions

“I have to keep things as close to real time as possible, and make sure there’s no disconnect between bidding and the auctioneer,” he says.

Much of what Julien’s sells falls into new or emerging auction categories—music memorabilia, pop culture artefacts, or modern art pieces that newer buyers connect to in ways that traditional areas (like classic art or wine) don’t.

Frederick will run an auction this fall featuring original Star Trek items and a separate event selling a significant guitar played in 1993 by the late Eddie Van Halen. Both sales could potentially resonate with those who haven’t spent much time in the auction world.

“It’s easier to convey value when an item has strong cultural significance,” he says. “A lot of what we sell has stories.”

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ASX shares are ‘vulnerable to further falls’: expert

Investors are nervous and “sensitive to weaker economic data”, with more volatility likely ahead for the Australian share market despite its stabilisation in recent days, says AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver. A dramatic global sell-off at the start of the month saw the ASX 200 plunge 465 points or 5.73 percent over two trading sessions, with other share markets around the world also tumbling.

A weak jobs report and manufacturing report out of the United States sparked the sell-off due to fears the world’s biggest economy may be slowing faster than thought and a recession may be imminent. Major ASX 200 companies were caught up in the sell-off, with shares in our biggest technology company, Wisetech, falling 12.58 percent over the two days. ASX 200 bank shares were also hit hard, with NAB shares dropping 8.52 percent and CBA shares shedding 8.35 percent.

Other major fallers included the ASX 200’s largest property stock, Goodman Group, with its share price diving 11.86 percent over the two days. Shares in the market’s biggest retail stock, Wesfarmers, fell by 6.19 percent, and the ASX 200’s biggest energy company, Woodside, lost 5.5 percent. Shares in the ASX 200’s biggest mining company, BHP, slipped 3.25 percent.

Another contributor to the global sell-off was the winding back of the Japanese yen ‘carry trade’. A carry trade is where global investors borrow money in a low-rate currency and invest in other currencies and assets, such as bonds and shares, that offer a higher rate of return. Japan had zero or negative interest rates for almost 14 years before the Bank of Japan raised rates in March to a range of 0–0.1 percent and again last month to 0.25 percent. This prompted investors to begin selling their investments, which are spread across share markets all over the world, to reduce or end their carry trades.

The threat of a recession in the US was somewhat quelled last week when the latest US initial jobless claims report showed the number of workers claiming welfare was lower than expected. Comments from the Bank of Japan’s deputy governor indicating the bank would not raise rates further while markets are unstable also calmed investors’ nerves. As a result, some losses were clawed back. The ASX 200 finished 2.08 percent lower last week, with Japanese shares down 2.5 percent and US shares down 0.04 percent.

Dr Oliver said ASX shares could rebound a little more but they remain “vulnerable to further falls over the next few months”. Dr Oliver said this was due to stretched valuations and a “very high” risk of recession both in Australia and the US. He said there were indications of deteriorating employment in both economies and share markets had not priced this into company valuations.

Dr Oliver added: “… geopolitical risk is high particularly around the US election and the Middle East with a high risk of escalation between Iran and Israel after the assassination of [a] Hamas’ leader in Iran; and we have only just started in the seasonally weak period of August and September which can sometimes extend into October/November in US election years”.

Dr Oliver said the Reserve Bank was “surprisingly hawkish” last week, with Governor Michele Bullock saying the board considered a rate rise at its meeting before deciding to keep rates on hold. She also said a rate cut was unlikely over the next six months. The RBA has also pushed out its expectations on the timing for a return of inflation to its target middle of the 2-3 percent band by six months.

“This hawkishness was a bit surprising given that in the last few months economic growth came in weaker than expected and inflation was broadly in line with RBA forecasts, the RBA’s near-term wage growth forecasts have been revised down and uncertainty regarding growth in China and the US has increased,” Dr Oliver said.

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Houseboat Twice the Size of the Average London Home Lists for £1.65 Million

For nautically inclined house hunters, this London houseboat that’s floating just off the south bank of the River Thames, might be the ideal investment.

On the market for £1.65 million (US$2.1 million), the three-bedroom vessel is moored just next to Wandsworth Park, according to the listing with Knight Frank, which brought the unorthodox home to the market at the beginning of this month.

The boat has three decks.
Knight Frank

Houseboats “rarely appear on the market, but when they do they attract a specific buyer who is after a unique way of living,” said Sarah Bennett, associate in Knight Frank’s Battersea and Riverside office. “This houseboat comes to market in excellent condition and contrary to any stereotypes, it is very spacious.”

At almost 2,000 square feet of living space, the houseboat is roughly twice the size of the average London dwelling, which, according to government statistics, is about 904 square feet. The two-story home has a light-filled reception room, a fully equipped kitchen and dining room, and three decks, including a sprawling roof terrace with city and water views.

The office has wine storage.
Knight Frank

The bedrooms are on the lower level, and include a primary suite with a walk-in wardrobe and an en-suite bathroom—both of the boat’s two bathrooms are large enough to accommodate bathtubs—and a study, complete with wine storage, could easily be converted into a fourth bedroom, according to the listing.

Mansion Global couldn’t determine who owns the property, or when it last changed hands.

Other amenities include an automatic boat launcher, “offering ease of access for aquatic adventures,” and the mooring is securely gated and privately owned “so the houseboat comes with a share of the freehold of the mooring,” the listing said.

The boat has three decks.
Knight Frank

Owning a share of the mooring gives greater security of tenure, unlike cruising licenses, where you have to move your boat regularly, Mansion Global previously reported.

Residents can also “enjoy external facilities that come with mooring rights such as access to the gym and swimming pool at [nearby] Prospect Quay,” Bennett said.

In London, houseboats “offer the remarkable experience of living right next to the action of city life whilst also being amongst nature, truly the best of both worlds,” she added.

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The Six-Figure Cars Drawing Enthusiastic Women Buyers

Classic cars or SUVs painstakingly retrofitted with modern drivetrains and interiors, otherwise known as “restomods,” are selling out despite prices of US$200,000 to US$400,000 and up. And the buyers are not all men.

The world of classic cars is overwhelmingly male-dominated, but it turns out these modernized versions have a broader appeal, tapping into girlhood nostalgia, too. The specialty shops that make these cars, based on everything from the Mercedes 280SL and Chevrolet Chevelle to off-roaders like the Land Rover Defender and the Ford Bronco, are reporting that their lists of female clients are growing, and some are buying more than one.

Jacqueline Comolli, who has homes in California and Maui, has a mid-US$300,000s Icon4X4 Ford Bronco, in orange and light blue, at each location.

“I’m happy with both of them,” she says. “I’ve only ever been drawn to old cars. They speak to me. But I can’t have a car that wouldn’t be safe or reliable. I don’t want to think that it’s about to break down.”

The light blue Bronco is one of two from Icon4X4 owned by Jacqueline Comolli.
Icon4X4

Comolli reports that she’s using the orange Bronco, fitted with a modern Ford five-liter “Coyote” V8 producing 420 horsepower, in Maui as her daily driver.

“It really connects with people who see it, in the way a regular expensive luxury car would not,” she says. “The older cars that people remember just evoke a feeling.”

Restomods are bespoke commissions, encouraging their owners to get involved in choosing colours and materials. Comolli says she sent in a “ratty old bikini top and a high-heeled shoe” for the colours she wanted.

Inside Jacqueline Comolli’s blue Bronco.
Icon4X4

Though the colour inspiration might be a bit different, the priorities of male and female clients are “pretty much the same,” says Jonathan Ward, CEO and lead designer at Icon4X4.

“They want enhanced performance, safety, and ease of service, while maintaining the vintage style and vibe.” He added that only 5% of his customers are women now, but “we are seeing more female interest.”

Emme Hall is a California-based auto writer who is very hands-on with her 2001 Mazda Miata off-road racer.

“There are fewer women who are car people today, and traditionally we haven’t had the same opportunities to work on cars,” she says. “When I wrench on my car I have to watch YouTube videos to avoid making mistakes. But when you buy one of these restomods, you get a dream car that is already done for you. The reliability and the workmanship are guaranteed.”

Katy Schuman in her Gateway Bronco.
Katy Schuman

Katy Schuman, who drives a car from Illinois-based Gateway Bronco built to her individual style, is an interior designer who has also worked with Gateway on the details of another pair of Bronco builds. She has a second restomod on order, a Defender being built by the Landrovers, a company in Holland. Schuman’s husband drives a blacked-out LS3-powered 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle restomod with an eight-speed push-button automatic that was originally special-ordered by comedian David Spade from Florida-based Velocity.

Schuman says that her Bronco was built from a second-hand 1969 car that she and her husband had on the road for 12 years.

“They completely rebuilt our old Bronco,” she said. “It’s a lot smoother now with a new chassis, stronger brakes and motor.” When the Bronco was just a well-worn used car it broke down frequently, often while Schuman was ferrying the kids to school. “It was usually the battery,” she says.

Wales-based Hemmels completely rebuilds Mercedes SLs to exacting specifications, and CEO Thomas Butterfield says that 10% of his clients are women—more than most of the competition.

“Our women buyers are exceptionally focused on detail, and they thrive on the car being custom and bespoke,” Butterfield says. “There’s a reason one-off handbags from Hermès sell for millions, because they’re statements.”

He added that the company has matched exterior and interior colors from handbags, flecks of house paint, and shades of nail varnish.

Tessa Hartmann , a Scottish branding strategist in the fashion and entertainment space who appeared on ITV’s Real Housewives of Jersey for two seasons, first fell in love with Mercedes sports cars as a child when she saw movie star Grace Kelly in a 190 SL. Hartmann first owned “Grace,” a 1969 Mercedes 280SL “Pagoda” that she’d traded for her Maserati Ghibli. But the car needed a lot of expensive loving care and attention, and a restoration through a local shop stalled—in part because, Hartmann felt, the owners took advantage of a woman client. Hartmann decided to swap Grace for a restored SL.

“It was at that point that I discovered Hemmels,” Hartmann says. “I felt bad for Grace, but I named the new car ‘Doris’ after Doris Day, who also has an effortless charm and a wholesome femininity about her.”

Hartmann notes that her four kids thought she was making an eccentric move, which prompted the thought that “it’s O.K. for a man to idolise engines, exhaust, and torque, but if a woman expresses an interest in cars, especially classic cars, she’s eccentric? Frankly I couldn’t have cared less what people thought. I was in charge. I had earned the right to do what I wanted. I am a workaholic and if this was my vice, so be it.”

Doris has had a makeover, and Hartmann took delivery of the 1970 car last year, paying around £220,000 (about US$280,000 and minus the £70,000 she got for trading in Grace). “Doris has a silver body, red leather interior, a red roof, and a hardtop—she’s quite magnificent, and the craftsmanship from Hemmels is impeccable,” Hartmann says. “Doris only gets to come out on sunny days. I feel an immense pride in being able to have one of these cars—it was an achievement many years in the making.” She’d buy another restomod, and thinks they hold their value well.

The E.C.D. Defender bought by Diane Johnson-Marchand and Tania Marchand.
E.C.D. photo

The ride owned by Diane Johnson-Marchand and Tania Marchand, is a restored bright-white 1990 Land Rover Defender 110 known as “Island Girl” in right-hand drive, upgraded to 455 horsepower via a GM LT1 V8. The builder, at a cost of around US$300,000, was Florida-based E.C.D. Automotive Design, which also restores Jaguar E-Types and Mustangs and has a little more than 6%female clients.

E.C.D. CEO Scott Wallace says the women he’s worked with bring a unique “perspective and flair” to their custom builds, “resulting in one-of-one vehicles that truly stand out. Their attention to detail and passion for design continually inspire us.”

Johnson-Marchand, a veterinarian in the Daytona Beach area of Florida, learned to drive in a Defender in Hawaii. That one was right-hand drive, so the new one had to be, too. She wanted an alloy-bodied car, located one in South Africa, and imported it to the U.S. before handing it over to E.C.D. for a nine-month build.

“We spent a month just on the design and personalised many aspects of the car,” Johnson-Marchand says. “And there were several on-site visits. E.C.D. kept us posted each step of the way, so we were able to see the car through the assembly process. Vintage looks combined with a modern drivetrain, that combination allows us to have the best of both worlds.”

There is actually a club for women supercar owners, the Arabian Gazelles, based in Dubai. Seeing the growing trend, similar organisations could take root around the world.

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The Rise of Women’s Sports Unlocks Unexpected Sponsorships

Makeup brands, hair-care startups and fertility clinics historically haven’t been associated with sports. Now they’re taking over game nights as the draw of elite women’s players, teams and leagues attracts new kinds of sponsors.

The menstrual care brand Sequel this week was named as the official tampon provider of USL Super League, for example, as the new professional women’s soccer league prepares to start play this month. The Kansas City Current, part of the National Women’s Soccer League, in December granted naming rights of its stadium’s main entrance to Helzberg Diamonds, its official jeweller.

And the Women’s National Basketball Association’s New York Liberty has accompanied familiar corporate sponsors such as the financial giant Barclays and hotel brand Marriott with newer partners such as the acne-focused skin-care company Hero, women’s workwear designer M.M.LaFleur and fertility centre RMA of New York.

“There were years where I would scratch my head as to why we weren’t garnering more endemic interests, like, why wouldn’t the beauty companies and the hair-care companies and the clothing companies want to align with women?” said Keia Clarke , chief executive of the Liberty. “Now, finding those brands is not hard.”

The new sponsors are being drawn by fans’ growing appetite and female athletes’ soaring cultural cachet and social-media reach.

“There’s interest from new brands that have never ventured into the sports space before because they weren’t appropriate for men’s sports,” said Erin Kane , vice president of women’s sports at Excel Sports Management, a management and marketing agency.

At the same time, lower prices to back women’s sports mean that a wider pool of businesses can get into the game if they so desire. Despite the growing spotlight, women’s sports are still cheaper to sponsor.

Breaking records

The surge in women’s sports comes as sports in general is ascendant in media and marketing. Game days are one of the last occasions standing that can reliably deliver large TV audiences and generate conversation on social media across most demographics.

April’s championship game of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s women’s basketball tournament for the first time drew more viewers than the men’s equivalent, fuelled in part by hype around superstar Caitlin Clark . The hype also helped bring attention to the tournament as a whole; viewership of even games she wasn’t in rose 76% year-over-year. And much of the excitement around Team USA at this year’s Olympics has centred on its female stars, rugby player Ilona Maher, swimmer Katie Ledecky, and gymnast Simone Biles and her teammates .

Women’s elite sports will generate around $1.3 billion in revenue globally in 2024, up from $981 million in 2023 and $692 million in 2022, according to consulting firm Deloitte. Commercial deals, including sponsorships, will make up around 55% of that revenue, according to the company, which does not report similar figures for men’s sports.

By way of comparison, the National Basketball Association’s team sponsorship revenue alone was estimated to be worth $1.5 billion for the 2023-24 season, according to sports and entertainment data firm SponsorUnited.

Some companies previously found themselves sponsoring women’s sports as a result of dual packages—buy-one-get-one-style deals whereby sports businesses that owned and operated both men’s and women’s teams would offer partner status across both for a huge discount on the women’s side.

Those kinds of deals are no longer in fashion, sports executives said.

David King , senior vice president of corporate partnerships for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, said he is discussing more brand deals that are specific to the Lynx.

“That wasn’t necessarily the case a few years ago,” King said. “I welcome the day there’s an onslaught of people calling us, but there’s certainly more now than there’s been before.”

Minneapolis-based hair-care company Odele became a sponsor after hearing the pitch about aligning with passionate women and supporting equality, despite the WNBA’s shorter season and lower viewership compared with the NBA.

“These athletes are at the forefront of what influencers can be and should be,” said Lindsay Holden , co-founder of the brand.

The team has been distributing samples, coupons and hosting giveaways at games, and presented a “get ready with me” TikTok series featuring Lynx players.

Brands with less tangible offerings have sought creative ways to activate their partnerships, and often with little-to-no experience in sports marketing, executives say.

RMA of New York, the New York Liberty fertility centre sponsor, introduced a campaign called “Let’s Go, Baby!” that filled the team’s Brooklyn arena with merch giveaways and scoreboard animations during a Pride-themed game in June. And birth-control medication Opill, a WNBA league sponsor since April, this season has set up booths designed to educate women on contraception at other events like the fan festival WNBA Live.

Pricing performance 

Women’s sports executives are now trying to narrow the price gap with men’s sponsorships.

“We’ve gotten pretty aggressive with what we’re asking our partners to spend,” said King, the Lynx executive, declining to confirm specific sponsorship costs. “We’re not going to grow our business by doing the $10,000, $20,000 and $30,000 deals anymore.”

Team owners and sales executives are trying to persuade marketers that women’s sports have more value in terms of engagement than has been historically recognised, even when viewership remains generally lower, games are often fewer or less frequent, and it’s still hard for top players to match the international star power of a Travis Kelce or Lionel Messi .

“Women’s sports is a brand conversation, it’s an engagement conversation—it’s less so a transactional, asset-based conversation,” said Laura Correnti , the founder and CEO of women’s sports firm Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment. “And so that requires teams to examine their pitch strategy, and not necessarily lead with how many people they reach.”

While a five-figure brand deal was once an acceptable number for WNBA sales teams, that’s no longer the case, said New York Liberty’s Clarke. The organisation in the past few years has regularly begun pitching and inking six-figure deals, and sometimes seven-figure deals, she said. The Liberty this season has 47 sponsors, up from 31 last season and 17 in 2022.

“It was easy before to dismiss the WNBA because the excuse was always, you don’t have the numbers. And now it’s like, well, we do have numbers, and we also have these really cool other attributes,” Clarke said.

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The Trending Look That Has Home Designers Playing With Fire

It’s the kind of edgy design trend you might have scrolled past on a social media feed: homes bearing beautifully charred facades or feature walls, a charcoal patina that seems as if it emerged from fire itself—in fact, that’s exactly how it came into being.

Shou sugi ban, also known as yakisugi, is a Japanese wood-burning method with roots that run deep. The craft emerged during Japan’s Edo period, from 1603 to 1868, as a way to clad cedar buildings to withstand temperature fluctuations between seasons and render them fire retardant and insect repellant. Aside from its practical benefits, the look has exploded in the West as a way to give homes—mostly luxury ones—a brooding, dramatic exterior that fits with an earthy minimalist aesthetic as much as texture-rich maximalist one.

The preservation technique, which can be achieved by hand or machine, involves burning wood until the surface is charred, cooling and cleaning it to remove soot and dust and finishing it with natural oils to reinforce its durability and aesthetic appeal.

Dark and charred and decidedly grained, the look of shou sugi ban is altogether distinctive.

“When you burn the clean wood, it creates a textural surface that highlights the beauty of the wood grain and colour,” said Mia Jung, director of interiors at Ike Kligerman Barkley in New York and San Francisco.

Depending on the degree of charring and finishing, the wood can produce a range of looks from deep black with pronounced grain patterns to a more subtle dark brown or grey with a smoother finish, said Jiun Ho, founder of Jiun Ho Inc., a multi-disciplinary interior and furnishings design firm in San Francisco.

Defining Detail

Unlike the purely functional role of the shou sugi ban technique of the past, today, it’s most commonly used for decorative purposes—both inside and outside the home.

“It has a modern yet earthy aesthetic,” said Stephanie Hobbs, design principal at Marmol Radziner in Los Angeles. “Clean lines and details help this naturally textured and rough material feel modern and luxurious.”

The old-world application can, ironically, have a very contemporary vibe. “The simplicity of the wood offers a beautiful and natural look that honours the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which embraces imperfections,” said Teresa Boyd and Helena Finkelstein, co-owners and lead designers of Verona, New Jersey-based Olive Hill Design Company.

While traditionally rendered in cedar, modern variations of the art utilise different types of woods, such as Douglas fir, cypress, pine or oak, creating many diverse looks. The cost of shou sugi ban varies widely based on factors such as the type of wood used, the degree of charring and the finish applied.

“It can be more expensive than untreated wood due to the labor-intensive process,” Ho said. Typically, prices range from $15 to$20 per square foot on average.

What’s Old Is New Again

There’s no denying the technique is having a moment, and it aligns with so many other trends, such as the growing emphasis on artisan-made things as well as biophilic design, a concept that aims to connect people with nature, in part, through natural materials.

“In this age of fast everything, there is a growing respect and appreciation for traditional craftsmanship,” Kornak said. “Shou sugi ban is a great example of that—it has a rich and beautiful history, especially in architecture and design. In addition, it’s both modern and rustic, which is aesthetically intriguing.”

The wood retains the carbon-dioxide absorbed during the tree’s growth, making it more durable and expanding the life of the wood, said Philip Consalvo, principal of PJCArchitecture in New York City.
Tom Stock, Stock Studios Photography

The matte finish and distinctive wood graining create a striking impression that is different from what people are used to seeing, Hobbs said, noting how it balances with a natural landscape.

“People love the warmth and natural qualities of wood siding, but it often comes with a large commitment to maintenance. This method of finishing ages naturally and beautifully over time and requires less maintenance than a typical wood siding application,” she said.

What makes shou sugi ban even more relevant is that it’s eco-friendly. The wood retains the carbon-dioxide absorbed during the tree’s growth, making it more durable and expanding the life of the wood, said Philip Consalvo, principal of PJCArchitecture in New York City. It also naturally protects the wood from the elements, eliminating the need for harsh chemicals.

“As darker home exteriors continue to trend, we will likely see this material becoming increasingly popular for cladding,” he said.

Fresh Ways to Play With Fire 

These days, shou sugi ban, in all of its smoky glory, is showcased in a multitude of ways—as siding and fencing, decking, interior and feature walls and furniture.

Ho loves using shou sugi ban for wall cladding because “it adds a multi-dimensional texture making the interior feel rich and warm.” For a new restaurant he’s designing called Enclos, which is opening later this summer in Sonoma, California, he covered the dining room’s walls and ceiling with shou sugi ban. “This created a dark black texture that serves as a blank canvas, allowing everything in the room, including the guests and the food, to stand out,” he said.

Jeffrey Dungan, founder and creative director at Jeffrey Dungan Architects in Mountain Brook, Alabama, prefers to apply the technique inside a home for a dark and moody vibe. While Hobbs tends to add the charred wood as a finishing material to connect interior walls with exterior siding.

Interiors created with shou sugi ban by Jeffrey Dungan.
William Abranowicz

Siding is the most common way to showcase the Japanese technique. Consalvo used the material as siding because of its “eco-friendly nature and seamless integration with the home’s natural surroundings,” for a recently completed lake house in the Adirondacks.

“The unique appearance of shou sugi ban enhanced the modern aesthetic we desired for the house. By incorporating this traditional craftsmanship in a modern way, we aimed to honour the Japanese wood preservation technique,” he said.

However, Consalvo noted that since the charring process is unfamiliar to many builders and contractors, “proper training and understanding of the technique are essential to achieving the desired results and maintaining its integrity and benefits.”

Carved bowls by A Space.
Courtesy of Holly Hunt

Aside from walls and siding, Shou Sugi Ban can be used to fashion bespoke items such as furniture, light fixtures or objets d’art. Design firm Holly Hunt has used geometric figurines by Martha Sturdy called “Reflections” as well as hand-carved solid cedar bowls from A Space.

“For both of these, the ashen black finish and minimalist lines are a graceful yet robust accent for interiors,” said Jo Annah Kornak, senior vice president and executive creative director of Chicago-based Holly Hunt.

Homeowners who are curious about the look but don’t want to commit to decorating large expanses can add a small side table or console crafted with the shou sugi ban technique for a natural and minimalist addition to their décor, Boyd and Finkelstein suggested.

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Wine Snobs, Don’t Let a Cute Critter on the Label Come Between You and a Great Bottle

A wine with an animal on its label is often regarded as less-than-serious, meant to appeal more to pet lovers than oenophiles.

“Animals give consumers vibes of cheapness,” observed Jeffrey Wolfe, proprietor of Wolfe’s Wine Shoppe in Coral Gables, Fla. Blame it on Yellow Tail, that cheap Aussie wine with the cheerful wallaby logo. Yellow Tail spawned a veritable den of “critter wines” two decades ago, and few left an enduring impression of quality.

I thought about all of that recently when I went looking for a wine with a horse on its label. I’d written a biography of Marguerite Henry, the author of “Misty of Chincoteague” among other horse books for children, and wanted to serve “horse wines” at my book signings. As it happened, I turned up several good bottles. Perhaps other good wines were hiding behind pictures of sheep, lions or bears?

I found a number of bottles whose labels were inspired by the animals that roam the landscapes where the wines were produced. For example, the mascot on the label of the 2022 Black Cabra Malbec ($US10)—a wine marked by soft tannins and notes of red fruit and spice—pays homage to the black goat that wanders the Argentine Andes, the location of the winery and vineyards. It’s a great-value red from winemaker Fabian Valenzuela and vineyard manager Carlos Correas of Bodega Zolo.

The solo sheep on the label of the dry, refreshingly light 2023 Landhaus Mayer Grüner Veltliner ($US12) nods to a long association between sheep and viticulture in the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria. According to Paul Kiefer, sales director of Mayer am Pfarrplatz winery and its label Landhaus Mayer, sheep historically grazed between the grapevines planted both outside and within city limits in the region. “Maximising space for agriculture and viticulture was key,” Kiefer said. Adorably, sheep can still be found in vineyards there today.

For the label of the 2020 Roberto Henríquez Tierra de Pumas Bio Bío Valley País ($US20), winemaker Roberto Henríquez chose two pumas, an endangered species in the Nahuelbuta Mountain Range, near his winery in the Bio Bío valley of Chile. The wine itself is a soft, slightly funky, intriguingly earthy, low-alcohol red made from Pais grapes harvested from old vines.

The Catalan donkeys on the label of the 2021 Clos dels Guaràns VI Negre “Les Someres” ($20) may be whimsically depicted wearing dainty frocks, but their breed is likewise endangered. In this blend of red grapes from Catalonia’s Penedès region, winemaker Jordi Raventos has produced a pleasing low-alcohol wine marked by bright acidity and ripe fruit.

Among the wines I found with horse labels, five stood out: three rosés and two reds. Two of the rosés were produced on Long Island by vintner-equestrians. The soft, slightly fruity, Merlot-dominant 2023 Wölffer Estate Rosé ($US16) is a reliably good pink whose label features a subtle gold profile of a horse entwined with grapes. The Sagaponack winery was founded by the late Christian Wölffer, a businessman and horseman who built both a winery and a horse barn.

The juicy, slightly tart 2023 Macari Sparkling Horses Cabernet Franc Pet-Nat ($US32) sports a full-colour profile of a horse on its label. The rendering was inspired by winery operations director Gabriella Macari’s love of horses. It’s also a nod to the unofficial name of the North Fork property her grandfather purchased in the 1960s: Locals referred to it as “Horse Head Bluffs,” said Macari, after a horse-head-shaped dune that once stood at the edge of what is now their vineyard.

The 2023 The Withers El Dorado Rosé ($US22) was produced in California but inspired by the rosés of Bandol, France, according to vintner Andrew Tow, who also makes Rhone-style reds and Pinot Noirs. All of his wine labels feature a portrait of Mr. Burgess, the beloved horse of his wife and the winery’s co-owner, Kathleen Tow. Even the name of the winery is horse-oriented: The Withers is the name of the point at which a horse’s neck and back meet.

Equestrian and vintner Ernesto Catena (son of famed Malbec producer Nicolás Catena) chose colourful horses in heraldic gear to decorate the label of his delicious red-berry-fruited 2022 Padrillos Malbec Mendoza ($US10). “We pay homage to the Padrillo, a strong but sensitive creature, that is very playful, free spirited and of strong nature at the same time,” Catena explained in an email. The wine is sourced from two old-vine high-elevation Malbec vineyards and aged in used and neutral oak at his winery Finca de los Padrillos.

Adding a horse to the label of the toothsome, juicy 2022 Clos de Roilette Cuvée Christie Fleurie ($US22) was not, originally, an entirely playful move according to the winery’s importer, Kevin McKenna, of Louis Dressner Wines in New York. In the 1930s, Mr. Crozet, the then-owner of the esteemed Beaujolais estate, was irked when his wines lost their Moulin-à-Vent appellation and were assigned to the new and, as yet, far-less-prestigious Fleurie. So he struck the appellation from all his labels and emblazoned them instead with a portrait of his prized racehorse, Roilette. The estate’s current owners, the Couderts, continue to use the iconic portrait, though they’ve added the Fleurie name, which has gained esteem in the intervening decades.

An amphibious label I’ve loved for a long time, Frog’s Leap is in a league of its own. Launched in 1981—“long before the arrival of ‘critter wines,’ ” founder John Williams noted—this Napa winery has long produced affordable, delicious wines. Its tangy 2023 Frog’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford ($US24) is no exception. Williams described the origin of the name thusly: “a drunken contraction of Stag’s Leap [Wine Cellars], where I spent my formative years as their first winemaker, and the Frog Farm, the beloved home of Larry Turley, my co-founder.” Label artist Charles House took the name as a jumping-off point to create his now-famous leaping frog.

Surprisingly, one species that proved scarce in my search for animals on wine labels was man’s best friend. I looked high and low but found only one (not-so-great) wine whose label featured a dog. As the owner of two Pembroke Welsh corgis, I’d hoped to find a good wine-canine combo. If anyone finds a bottle with a corgi on the label, please let me know.

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Italian Automaker Pininfarina’s Future Luxury SUV Will Likely Have Hybrid Power

Italian carmaker Automobili Pininfarina’s next production car, a luxury SUV based on the radical Pura Vision concept shown at the Pebble Beach concours event in California last year, will likely not be a battery EV, but is envisioned with plug-in hybrid power.

“We’re looking at all technologies,” CEO Paolo Dellachà tells Penta . “Our commitment to electric will stay—it’s the future—but we’re also investigating hybrid power.”

The CEO won’t yet comment on which internal-combustion engine might reside under the hood of the new SUV, but he says such a luxury car would ideally have up to 50 miles of EV-only range. “We want to maximise the range, but we also don’t want the battery to take up too much interior space or add too much weight,” he says.

Inside the B95 Gotham.
Pininfarina Photo

The Pura Vision SUV could be toned down by the time it morphs into a production car, but in concept form, it displays a wide range of design innovation—and is as visually striking as the Tesla Cybertruck.

Dellachà has been in the lead role for a year and a half. But before that he was the company’s chief product and engineering officer, deeply involved in the building of the flagship Battista EV, and had previous appointments at Ferrari and Maserati. He is, in short, a very hands-on CEO.

The B95 Gotham: Would Bruce Wayne buy one? 
Pininfarina Photo

The brief for the Battista, he says, was “to create the most powerful car ever built, with great handling that ensured it could do more than accelerate in a straight line. Reaching that goal was only possible with an electric powertrain—we showed what the Battista could do with four electric motors.” The US$2.2 million Battista supercar, featuring an electric powertrain developed with Croatia-based Rimac, achieved its brief—with up to 1,900 horsepower on tap.

There’s no date on the SUV yet, and Dellachà declines to comment on how many Battistas have been delivered, but the U.S. remains the company’s biggest market. And Pininfarina should be very visible during Monterey Car Week, with a rally planned that will feature at least 10 of the company’s Battistas (including all five of the special-edition Anniversario anniversary cars).

The Pininfarina B95 Gotham (foreground) complemented by the Tumbler, a Batman movie car.
Pininfarina Photo

On Pininfarina’s stand at the Quail: A Motorsports Gathering on Aug. 16 will be the world debut of a concept for the one-of-a-kind Pininfarina B95 Gotham, one of four cars being built in collaboration with Warner Brothers Discovery Global Consumer Products’ Wayne Enterprises Experience, which develops curated luxury products. Warner Bros. works with DC Entertainment on Batman films, and Dellachà says the B95 Gotham is “something Bruce Wayne [Batman’s civilian persona] would want to have in his garage. It’s as if he were one of our clients asking us to build a unique project.”

The actual finished B95 Gotham, a variation on the open electric €4.4 million (about US$4.8 million) B95 Barchetta shown last year in an edition of 10, will be delivered to a customer by the end of 2025, Dellachà says. The other three cars in the Warner/Bruce Wayne series, all one-offs, are the Battista Gotham, the Battista Dark Knight, and the B95 Dark Knight.

Dellachà says that the creation of unique cars like the Batman-themed vehicles “will always be part of our business model.”

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Too expensive to date: how cost of living pressures are derailing the quest for love

More than one in three Australians admit they have spent more than they intended on a date to impress their partners or a new love interest. A Finder survey of 1,070 people found 14 percent have spent more than they could afford on dates, while a further 21 percent say they have also gone over budget but could afford to do so.

Finder’s money expert, Rebecca Pike, said: “Millions of people are finding that their simple quest to find love is derailing their financial wellbeing. Aussies have less disposable income in general due to the cost of living crisis, and spoiling a potential love interest or overspending on a date is adding to the money stress.”

The research found younger singles were more likely to go over budget on dates, with 23 percent of Gen Z respondents and 22 percent of Millennials spending more than they could afford versus just seven percent of Gen Xers and five percent of baby boomers.

Ms Pike said Aussies should start with simple, affordable dates with someone new.

“’Fake it until you make it’ is a risky dating strategy. You may get stuck with some spending habits and decisions that you’re paying off long after the romance has fizzled out.”

While many Australians are prepared to go over budget to woo a beau or belle, another survey shows some people are becoming less inclined to shout a round or pick up the bill when dining out and socialising with family and friends.  

A survey of 2,000 Australians by NAB Economics found 54 percent prefer to split the bill these days, with this figure rising to 72 percent among 18 to 29 year-olds.

“Young Australians are embracing ‘loud budgeting’ and getting more comfortable with talking about their financials,” said NAB personal everyday banking executive, Kylie Young. “It isn’t surprising that extends to splitting the bill, as they confidently step away from the social pressure of ‘shouting a round’.”

The majority of older Australians are still paying for each other, with only 32 percent of over-65s saying today’s high cost of living made them more inclined to split the bill. Interestingly, splitting bills is least common among low-income earners (39 percent) and more common among high–income earners (63 percent). When separating the bill, almost four in 10 prefer one person to pay and the others to transfer their share. About three in 10 prefer to pay their share with a debit or credit card.

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Property of the week: 12 Range Rd, Gruyere

Great architectural design and exceptional food are two of life’s great indulgences. When these two worlds collide, the result is a landmark residence made for entertaining that is also easy on the eye.

Case in point; Italian restaurateur and art aficionado Rinaldo Di Stasio tasked his friend the late architect Allan Powell with crafting a home away from home atop a hill in the picturesque Yarra Valley.

In 1988, Di Stasio opened St Kilda’s Cafe Di Stasio, which has often been lauded as Melbourne’s best Italian restaurant.

Previously listed with expectations of between $9.5 million and $10 million, the house has now resurfaced with new agent Kathy Purcell of Barry Plant Doncaster East and a fresh asking price of $8.5 million to $9.35 million.

The property is in the middle of prime wine producing country in the Yarra Valley.

“The wow factor of this property is not only its location in the heart of the Yarra Valley — and the fact that it has been a prime wine-producing estate – but it has been architecturally designed by the great Allan Powell. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before in this country,” Purcell says.

“And although it’s a very elite home, at the same time, it’s got some really cosy elements. When Rinaldo would spend time there with his family, and he wasn’t entertaining, it could be set up as a really intimate space.”

Set in the rolling green landscape of Gruyere 60kms east of Melbourne, the 32.37ha property is part gallery, part trophy home surrounded by close to 3ha of vines and the Warramate Flora Fauna Reserve.

The house is part gallery, part trophy home and has hosted several substantial parties with ease.

Built in 1995, the unique residence features an industrial aesthetic and a spacious three-bedroom floorplan wrapped around a central courtyard with sweeping district views over the private vineyard and Great Dividing Range. In years past, the home grown wine produced at the estate was served in Di Stasio’s Melbourne restaurants.

Created as a great entertainer, the Gruyere estate has hosted several high profile soirees and the commercial-grade kitchen, complete with butler’s pantry, has proven its worth during large-scale events.

“There have been some great events held there over the years as it’s an idyllic venue. If I look at the potential buyer, I can see either a business person who wants to entertain or simply keep it as an exclusive getaway,” Purcell adds.

Beyond the vast courtyard filled with more than a dozen plane trees and a reflection pool, the home’s dramatic entry foyer is a long gallery acting as a reception room connecting the outside world with the more intimate living spaces.

Past the reception, the lounge and dining rooms feature warming fireplaces and the adjoining primary suite sits separated from the remaining bedrooms. This main retreat has a walk-in wardrobe plus a bath ensuite and sliding doors to the great outdoors.

In 2007 Powell’s son, Hugo, was commissioned to add the striking swimming pool that seemingly floats above the natural landscape simultaneously capturing the panorama while also hiding a versatile studio space below.

In addition to the pool and sun deck, as well as the vines, the rolling estate also has a private 5km walking track and two dams. It is 11kms from both the townships of Coldstream and Healesville.

Expressions of interest on 12 Range Rd, Gruyere close on Friday, August 30 at 5.00pm.

 

Estimated sale price: $8.5 million to $9.35 million

Agent: Kathy Purcell on 0411 619 336 of Barry Plant Doncaster East

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Energy, Climate and AI Bets Are Powering Europe’s Venture Sector

Venture capitalists’ appetite for energy and artificial-intelligence investments is putting Europe’s venture sector on a hot streak.

European governments’ focus on energy security amid heightened geopolitical tensions has helped spur a capital rush, investors and analysts say. That coupled with the emergence of Europe-based AI startups, which can be less expensive than their U.S. counterparts, is also drawing investors.

European startups raised $15.5 billion in the second quarter, up 14% from the first quarter and up 12% from the same quarter of last year, according to Europe-based analytics firm Dealroom.co. Meanwhile, the amount invested into North American startups rose 9.6% in the second quarter from the prior quarter while Asia deal value rose 6.4% over the same period.

Energy was the most funded sector in Europe in the first half of the year, netting $5.7 billion, while funding raised by AI startups accounted for a record 18% of venture funding in Europe, up from about 11% in 2021, Dealroom.co said. Before last year, energy startups typically raised less capital than fintech, health and enterprise software startups.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spurred European governments—which were historically dependent on Russian fossil fuels—to develop greater energy security. Support has reached startups in the form of grants and other government-backed investment opportunities.

“It has been a major shift,” said Orla Browne , head of insights at Dealroom.co. “The exposure of energy-security issues with the invasion of Ukraine has filtered down to startups.”

Large AI deals have also drawn capital to Europe. In May, Wayve, a U.K.-based developer of autonomous driving software, raised $1 billion from investors including SoftBank Group , chip maker Nvidia and Microsoft . In June, French startup Mistral AI raised $646 million from investors including the venture arm of software giant Salesforce , General Catalyst and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

In Europe, investors say they can scoop up shares of startups for less money compared with the prices that their counterparts in the U.S. command. Meanwhile, Europe’s technical universities are supplying promising entrepreneurs, particularly in the AI field.

“We have hired a world-class team at salaries that cost 30% or less than you would get for a similar team in [Silicon Valley] with the caliber being as good,” said Dominic Vergine , chief executive of Monumo in Cambridge, England, which uses AI to make electric motors more efficient.

Europe’s climate regulations have also helped attract funding for energy startups, for example the European Commission’s Innovation Fund.

Danijel Višević, co-founder of Berlin-based World Fund, said funding from countries like Germany and France as well as from the European Union helped push more capital into climate startups. “Europe has started to reap the rewards of the fruits it sowed with climate tech R&D,” said Višević.

He added that given the long-term effects of climate change, funding in the sector is likely to be stable, both from venture-capital firms and governments, for years to come.

Even so, Europe’s venture sector faces some headwinds. In the second quarter, the continent saw $2.2 billion in exits, a third fewer than in the same quarter a year ago and 93% under the second quarter of 2021, a banner year for exits worldwide, according to a report by professional-services firm KPMG. Exits include initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions and are the primary way venture investors cash out of their startup investments.

High interest rates, which typically encourage investors to divert capital away from venture to fixed-income strategies, have also hurt the industry. European startups’ second-quarter haul is far below the record $34.6 billion they netted during the same quarter of 2021.

Investors are eager for a turnaround. Last year, Planet First Partners, which has offices in London and Luxembourg, raised a €450 million fund, equivalent to $485 million, in part on the thesis that Europe’s favourable climate regulations are a financial tailwind for energy startups.

In March, the firm invested in Sunfire, a German startup developing hydrogen energy technology aimed at reducing reliance on fossil-based energy from oil, gas and coal. The investment came as part of a €215 million Series E equity funding round and included an additional term loan of up to €100 million from the European Investment Bank.

Sergio Carvalho , a partner and head of sustainability at Planet First Partners, said the firm has invested in Sunfire in part for its potential to help Europe become more energy independent. PFP’s first investment in Sunfire was before the invasion of Ukraine. “Europe has been pushing decarbonisation systematically,” Carvalho said.

Last year, Sunfire received €169 million from a European Union initiative that funds projects that address EU-wide challenges.

In July, Index Ventures, which was founded in Europe and has offices in London, San Francisco and New York, raised $2.3 billion in new funds—an $800 million venture fund and a $1.5 billion growth fund. Hannah Seal , an Index partner in London who focuses on enterprise AI deals, among other sectors, said she expects roughly half of the venture fund to be used to invest in startups that are based in Europe.

“The first half of this year was one of the busiest we’ve ever had,” Seal said about AI dealmaking in Europe. “We’re seeing a general stabilisation in the global economy which is obviously impacting sentiment.”