Last weekend I caught up with a girlfriend to ‘warm’ her new home. And what a home it is! Flat and on a huge block, the house is near amenities, public transport and good schools. Built in the 70s the bones are exceptional with scope to expand or renew. This friend had given herself a year to locate the next home for her family. One to suit growing boys and potential pets. This was the very first one she and her partner looked at. They were so impressed that they put an at asking price offer, and missed out.
After about six weeks the agent called them back and asked if they were still interested?
Whoever had put forward the successful bid on the house decided that, presumably because the process had been so easy they must have offered too much. They rescinded and came back with a lower one, not thinking there was anyone in the rear view mirror. My friend had looked at a lot in the proceeding weeks and thought it was totally worth extending themselves a little beyond their original offer – and that offer got them the house. She wondered whether she could have stuck with the original and saved herself a few thousand? I told her she’d never regret it – the sky is the limit from here.
That is also how I feel about the Laundy Family Office’s purchase of Nine Radio. They paid about $6 million above what most were estimating the network’s broadcast radio assets – 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH – would go for. I don’t know this for sure, but suspect some of the interested parties may have also offered more than the Laundys at some stage, but also decreased their offers not realising there were any players remaining above the $50 million mark. I don’t believe the Laundys will regret it the additional investment to get them over the line either.
When the news of the sale was made official I listened to the Laundy patriarch Arthur in an interview with Ben Fordham on 2GB in 2024. The Laundy family office owns around 100 pubs, bottle shops, hotels and even a shopping centres or two. They have long been advertisers with Nine and clearly happy with the arrangements and outcomes. Arthur is considered to be a billionaire.
Arthur retells a story that he had shared privately with Ben when they had run into each other at one of the Laundy’s many establishments. When one of Arthur’s pubs is struggling the first thing he does is go there for dinner. The quality of the food, and the experience, tells him everything he needs to know.
Ben’s reply, showing he gets this immediately, is that yes – the pub’s game is alcohol, but that tastes the same, the food and the atmosphere brings people back.
Ben would have had no idea then that he and Arthur would both later be placing bids for those radio stations, but in that discussion is the core of what both understand. Good content is king.
We don’t really have a precedent for a loyal advertiser buying into a network of radio stations. But the Laundy family have shown they are not adverse to stepping outside their comfort zone.
Arthur’s son Craig, who had been brought up to work in the family business as his father had had to, decided he wanted to have a voice in parliament. He would run for the Federal seat of Reid for the Liberal party. Arthur told Ben that he was ‘disappointed’ by the decision, but that he didn’t stop him and respected the need to be something outside his father’s sphere of influence.
Craig won the Reid seat in 2013 and the Liberals won Government. He was appointed Minister for Small and Family Business, and he chose to retire in 2019, aged just 48. Since then, beyond returning to the family business, Craig has had a recurring role as a guest on Clinton Maynard‘s 2GB Afternoon program, talking politics amongst other things.
The Laundys are clearly representative of Sydney. They know the city and what works. Nine Radio excels in Sydney and especially in Melbourne. Some have speculated that will be their downfall, trying to make what works where they know, somewhere that they don’t.
But, this is where Arthur going to taste the food in his restaurants is particularly relevant. If 4BC, its new breakfast team and local lineup starts building an audience, Arthur doesn’t need to sample the menu as it’s working. If Perth tastes ‘off’ I think they know better than to ship produce across the country.
The most interesting decisions for Nine Radio, once the Laundys have their feet under the table, will come closer to their home.
One of the most valuable assets Nine Radio has, that they have built in house, is their own traffic network. The same applies to the ABC. Virtually all the other networks use atn for the ease and convenience, Nine’s in house traffic presenter is able to interact in real time when something significant happens on the roads. When you pride yourself on being live and local, this service matters very much indeed.
But, what about the football rights?
Arthur Laundy is a fan and major sponsor of the Canterbury Bulldogs. The Continuous Call Team, through 2GB, 4BC and 3AW, have long been a benchmark for audio rugby league commentary through the voices, for decades, of Ray Hadley and Ray ‘Rabs’ Warren. Both have now retired and while the survey results were generally very good for Nine Radio across season 2025, they have competition from SEN, Triple M and the ABC – four networks playing the same game potentially, just with different commentators.
Nine Entertainment‘s broadcast rights with the NRL come to an end at the conclusion of the 2027 season. Nine Radio (through 3AW particularly) have AFL and AFLW rights through to the end of season 2028 too. If these arrangements remain in place with the sale, then the Laundys have a couple of seasons to see how that works for them and refurnish later. It was a good time to buy.
There are plenty of hotels and the like in Sydney, but in an increasingly shrinking market, any of the other radio networks that the Laundy Family Office were advertising with may find they miss out this year and the family focuses on their investment.
With the shoe on the other foot, Arthur, Craig and the rest of the family haven’t had any media ownership before. How do you succeed in an arena you don’t know?
I would suggest that Arthur Laundy has been booking himself a seat at the Nine Radio restaurant for a long time, but his presence has gone unnoticed. He likes the menu and the atmosphere. He can see that the patrons do too and keep returning. I’m sure that he has had the time to notice where the decor is dated or the rooms that are more empty than they should be at certain hours.
In those instances where there is something amiss Arthur told Ben that he’d get a thriving chef to consult with the struggling one to give guidance. Arthur’s not a chef, he just knows when the whole thing isn’t working. He leaves the content and the meals to those who are experts in that area.
Four generations building a billion dollar empire. The Laundys know how to delegate, and a good investment when they see it.
Nine Radio is in great, new hands.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo. Email: [email protected]
Introducing the newest radio station owners – The Laundy family
Nine’s radio assets sold to Laundy consortium for $56 million