One-in-a-million
Given his lifetime of work with racehorses all over the world, Stud Manager and owner of his own bloodstock business, Peter O’Brien is hard to impress.
Nevertheless, even though Peter never buys yearlings, he knew he would keep a share in Merchant Navy from the day the thoroughbred was foaled.
“From the time he hit the ground I loved him. I thought he was a one-in-a-million horse. I hadn’t seen anything like him.”
When Merchant Navy was sold for $350,000 as a yearling, Peter kept a share in the young colt. Following the horse’s strong racing debut, Peter was then offered big dollars to sell his share, but he held on.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime for me … you don’t get too many unbeaten two-year-old colts by Fastnet Rock.”
Now retired to a promising stud career, Merchant Navy has given Peter many thrills as a racing owner as well as great returns for his bloodstock breeding business.
A winning strategy
However, Peter was concerned about managing his taxation and cashflow needs. Horses (and earnings) like those by Merchant Navy don’t come along every day and Peter wanted to ensure he made the most of it.
When meeting Craig Saywell, Peter was able to discuss his concerns and goals for his bloodstock operation.
We used our SMART business process to analyse Peter’s operation and ensure he was set up to manage his changing circumstances, make good business decisions, maintain good financial records for his racing and breeding activities and, importantly, make the best GST, depreciation and valuation choices for minimising his taxation.
Peace of mind
Peter’s bloodstock operation has grown from strength to strength. Using the effective financial management and systems Saywells introduced, Peter is confident he’s on the right track.
We handle all of Peter’s bookkeeping and taxation compliance, providing him with peace of mind that everything is shipshape. We work closely with Peter on tax planning and ensure he stays on top of any changes to his circumstances.
Peter values his close working relationship with Craig Saywell who provides ongoing business mentoring and advice.
“Without Craig’s expertise structuring my operation and getting timing and financial choices right, I would have paid tens of thousands more in tax.”
