🎾 Billionaire to sell Carrara Sports Centre
Volume 166: Man in Kirra wins 328k | Hope Island's new train station opens | Massive new dinosaur discovered | SpaceX to hit the stock market and heaps more!
G’day, GC, and welcome back. It’s May 21.
In today's newsletter
One Big Thing: Billionaire selling Carrara sports centre
Yatala’s Crimsafe puts: Australian-made muscle on show
Hedges Avenue, the GC’s Millionaire’s Row, soon to: Be a resident-only street
Around The Web: Hope Island’s new train station opens, man wins $328k in Kirra, a massive new dinosaur discovered and heaps more
Trending: Mario the koala statue..
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1. Billionaire selling Carrara sports centre
By Marshall Hall
What’s Happening: Russian confectionery billionaire Dennis Shtengelova, who reportedly lost control of much of his Russian assets when they were seized last year by the Vladimir Putin-led Government, is selling his KDV Sports Centre at Carrara.
Why It Matters: Not a standard property listing you’d normally see pop up in your feed, the site sits opposite People First Stadium and has become one of the Gold Coast’s more recognisable privately owned sports and recreation hubs since opening in 2016.
By the Numbers:
The site covers 11.85ha across five freehold titles.
The adjoining hotel has 69 rooms.
KDV Group produces 350 types of confectionery and snack products.
The Russian company operates 11 factories across Russia.
KDV Sport opened in 2016.
Zoom In: Mr Shtengelova bought the former Carrara Gardens Golf Course in 2011 while on holiday, before turning it into a major training and leisure venue.
Facilities include a fully lit nine-hole golf course, multi-storey driving range, tennis courts, pickleball, padel, soccer, mini-golf, fitness and wellness facilities.
The centre is also licensed and has several function spaces, while the hotel adds four more.
Zoom Out: KDV Group is headquartered in Tomsk, Russia, where the company produces 350 different types of confectionery and snack products in its 11 factories.
In October last year, a Russian court ordered the seizure of the company after the court designated Mr Shtengelova and his father, Nikolai, as extremists because the company supplied Ukrainian forces with food and violated a Russian capital control law.
What They Said: Marketing material promotes the site as having “diversified income across sport, hospitality, wellness, events and accommodation”.
What To Look For Next: The full article below.
😲 Fun fact: It would take 199.6 years of saving $1 million per hour to save up enough money to reach SpaceX’s proposed IPO listing valuation of $1.75 trillion..
2. Crimsafe puts Australian Made muscle on show in Yatala
What’s Happening: Crimsafe marked 30 years in business this week with an Australian Made Week showcase at its Yatala factory.
Why It Matters: The event also celebrated 40 years of the Australian Made logo and brought together Business Chamber Queensland, Australian Made representatives, business leaders and media.
The factory tour came as Australian manufacturing gets a fresh push from supply chain shocks, rising demand for local products and Queensland’s next wave of infrastructure and Brisbane 2032 opportunities.
By the Numbers:
Crimsafe now has 120 licensees nationally.
The business supports more than 2,000 jobs.
Redirecting just $20 a week to Australian-made products could drive $11 billion in extra local sales.
That same shift could create more than 20,000 jobs.
Queensland businesses are being urged to prepare for $7.1 billion in Games-related procurement.
The Business Chamber Queensland also pointed to about $132 billion in broader Queensland Government spending over a similar six-year period.
Zoom In: Beginning in 1996 with a simple idea that security screens should be strong, but they should also look good.
The business is located in the middle of South East Queensland’s growth corridor, where population growth, housing, tourism, infrastructure and Olympic planning are creating demand for businesses that can make, install, service and scale.
What They Said: Speaking in front of the large crowd that gathered for the event, Australian Made Chair Anne Carnell said the green and gold kangaroo logo remains one of the country’s strongest trust signals, both at home and overseas.
“People associate it with Australian standards and are more likely to buy products carrying it, especially in categories such as food, vitamins, cosmetics, clothing, fashion and homewares.”
Crimsafe CEO Jim Sturgess said the company’s Australian-made identity was central to its growth.
“Our purpose is to make the world a safer place.
It’s meaningful to our people here, and it’s why we get up every day and come to work.”
“Being Australian made is important to our customers. They recognise the logo, they trust the products and they’re more likely to buy Australian products,” Sturgess said.
Business Chamber Queensland CEO Heidi Cooper said the state’s next wave of growth would reward businesses that prepare early, build capability and look for local partners before the big opportunities arrive.
“There is growth opportunity heading into Queensland. Get behind your business, get behind other businesses, look for partnership opportunities and look for local suppliers.”
What To Look For Next: The full article and photo gallery below.
3.
4. Around the web
A massive new dinosaur species has been discovered after a: Man spotted some strange-looking rocks by a pond in Thailand
A previously undisclosed project to build a brand new oil pipeline that: Completely bypasses the Strait of Hormuz is expected to be completed by the end of 2027
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is officially heading for: The public share market next month in what is likely to be a record that puts the world’s richest person at the top of two separate trillion-dollar companies
Anthropic is reportedly about to have its: First-ever profitable quarter
5. Trending
Recent newsletters
Last week’s top-clicked link was 👇
The mystery behind why Temu was selling: Human meat in a can that was being advertised on Google 🤢
Weekly dream gig
This week - If turning growth chaos into clean national systems sounds like your kind of Friday fun, this one’s for you.
Tradezone is chasing a National Operations Manager to lead and scale six distribution centres from its Helensvale head office.
Think multi-site leadership, sharper systems, better rhythms, safer warehouses and a lot of moving parts across one of Australia’s fastest-growing electrical wholesalers.
The package is serious at $200,000.00 plus allowances, with a modern Gold Coast base, onsite café and the beach 15 minutes away. Big role, big network, big operational clean-up.
6. Upcoming events
🛥️ Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show – Thu 21–Sun 24 May, daily; Australia’s biggest boating lifestyle showcase takes over Sanctuary Cove with superyachts, marine gear, food, entertainment and plenty of shiny “just browsing” temptation. Tickets. (Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show)
🏇 Silks Under The Stars Race Evening – Fri 22 May, 4–10 pm; kick off the weekend trackside at Aquis Park with twilight racing, frocks, fizz and a bit of Friday-night flutter. Tickets. (Aquis Gold Coast Turf Club)
💪 Oceania Pro/Am Nationals – Fri 22–Sat 23 May, from 4 pm Friday / 9 am Saturday; elite natural bodybuilding hits Glow Church in Robina for a flex-heavy weekend of stage lights and serious discipline. Event. (Natural Bodybuilding Australia)
🎮 TableTopCon 2026 – Sat 23–Sun 24 May, Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre; board games, RPGs, card games, tournaments and demo tables roll into Carrara for the Coast’s biggest tabletop gaming weekend. Tickets. (TableTopCon)
🧑💻 BSides Goldie 2026 – Sat 23 May, 8 am–7 pm; Southport gets nerdy in the best way with a full-day community cyber security conference, talks and networking drinks at COHORT. Tickets. (Humanitix)
🏘️ AREC 2026 – Australian Real Estate Conference & Expo – Sun 24–Mon 25 May, Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre; the property crowd floods Broadbeach for one of Australasia’s biggest real estate conference weekends. Tickets. (arecconference.com.au)
⚓ Marinas26 Conference & Trade Exhibition – Mon 25–Tue 26 May; marine industry heavyweights dock on the Gold Coast during boat-show week for two days of marina business, tours and networking. Conference. (Marinas26)
🏉 State of Origin Game I at The Star Sports Bar – Wed 27 May, 8:05 pm; grab a big screen and a louder table as Origin fever fires up at The Star’s Sports Bar. (The Star)
🏉 Ampol Women’s State of Origin Game 3 – Thu 28 May, gates 4:45 pm / kick-off 7:45 pm; Cbus Super Stadium gets a proper Origin night under lights, so this is worth flagging if you’re happy to include one “next Thursday” teaser. Tickets. (cbussuperstadium.com.au)