• Parkside accountants make CBD move
• Beston boosted by TGA approvals, supply contracts
• SILK eyes $20m EBITDA amid rapid clinic expansion
• SA gin distilleries clean up at UK award show
• Business Events: AEDA Business Summit, Personal Wellbeing Masterclass

Parkside accountants make CBD move

Perks’ signage at their new offices on Flinders Street. Photo: Thomas Kelsall/InDaily

Perks Accountants and Wealth Advisers has moved its offices from Parkside to the CBD, taking around 180 staff members with them.

The South Australian accounting firm now occupies four floors of the 11-storey commercial office tower at 81 Flinders Street.

The building already boasts numerous other wealth advisory firms, including PKF Adelaide, MFA, Geoff Davis & Associates and Logic Finance, as well as recruitment agency Hender and disability services organisation HenderCare.

Perks executive chair Mark Roderick said the firm had outgrown its Grenfell Street office in Adelaide’s inner south, with the CBD move set to expand the firm’s “operational footprint”.

“Relocating Perks to 81 Flinders Street was a well-considered choice to support our many clients that call Adelaide home, and provide our Team Members with access and proximity to all that the city has to offer,” he said.

Adelaide Economic Development Agency managing director Ian Hill touted Perks’ relocation as a “vote of confidence” in the CBD.

“It’s clear more employees are returning to the office and we want to work with organisations to help them take advantage of everything the city has to offer, creating a positive experience for the employee, which will boost the city’s economy,” he said.

“Having a proudly South Australian business, such as Perks, choose to base themselves in the heart of the CBD is an important vote of confidence in this city and will encourage similar organisations to establish their offices in Adelaide.”

The Adelaide CBD’s office vacancy rate stood at 15.6 per cent in Q4 2021, according to real estate firm JLL.

Beston boosted by TGA approvals, supply contracts 

Beston Global Food Company has received approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration for the sale of three of its newly developed nutraceutical products.

The ASX-listed South Australian dairy company, which is primarily focused on mozzarella production, also announced last week it has secured new contracts to supply its “high grade” lactoferrin to health product manufacturers in North America and China.

Lactoferrin is a high value dairy protein that is primarily used in infant formula to provide the bioactive properties that mimic breastmilk. But it can also be used in dietary supplements, pharmaceutical products including respiratory medications, cosmetics and oral hygiene products.

In a letter to shareholders last Thursday, newly appointed Beston CEO Fabrizio Jorge, who took the helm of the company on April 1, said the TGA had given approval to Beston’s newly developed suite of lactoferrin products under the company’s Trueferrin brand.

The TGA approved products include Trueferrin Bone and Muscle Support, Trueferrin Growth and Immune Support and Trueferrin Immune+.

“The approval and registration of these products by the TGA is an important step forward for the sale of our Lactoferrin products and for the growth of our dairy nutraceutical business,” Jorge told shareholders last week.

“The TGA approval will enable us to capitalise on the diverse applications of Lactoferrin as a functional ingredient and enter the flourishing nutraceuticals market in Australia.”

Jorge also said the approval gave Beston the “required credentials” to explore “strategic alliances” overseas for the sale of its lactoferrin products.

To that end, Jorge also revealed Beston has entered into supply arrangements with “one of North America’s largest manufacturers and distributors of vitamins and health supplements” as well as one of China’s “leading paediatric nutrition companies”.

The names of the two companies were not disclosed. Beston expects to begin supplying them with lactoferrin in Q4 2022.

SILK eyes $20m EBITDA amid rapid clinic expansion

SILK Laser’s Marion store. Photo: Brad Griffin.

Adelaide-based national beauty therapy chain SILK Laser Clinics says it on track for a $20 million EBITDA this financial year after more than doubling its number of clinics since 2019/20.

The Norwood company, which has 121 clinics located across Australia and New Zealand, announced last week that its FY22 cash sales up to Q3 reached $116.6 million – 91 per cent higher than the corresponding period last financial year.

SILK attributed the result to its $47 million takeovers of Australian Skin Clinics (ASC) and New Zealand’s The Cosmetic Clinic (TCC) last September. The acquisition nearly doubled the company’s number of clinics from 63 to 118.

SILK has added three further clinics to its national network this calendar year and says it hopes to open between six and 10 clinics over the next 12 months. The company has previously flagged its intention to open up 150 clinics over the medium term.

The rapid expansion has SILK projecting at least $20 million in EBITDA  (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for FY22 – up from around $10 million in FY21 and FY20.

“The foundations of the SILK business are strong, especially as we continue to expand our service mix – growing the share of the Injectables category that is especially resillent, even in a tough operating environment,” SILK founder and managing director Martin Perelman said in a statement.

SILK was founded in Adelaide in 2009 and offers laser hair removal, cosmetic injectables, skin treatments, body contouring and skincare products.

It was ranked No. 41 in InDaily’s 2021 South Australian Business Index of the state’s top 100 companies, up from 56 the year before.

SA gin distilleries clean up at UK award show

Ambleside Distillery’s Big Dry Gin has been voted Australia’s best gin at the London Spirits Competition. Photo: supplied

 Two South Australian gin distilleries have taken home gold awards at the 2022 London Spirits Competition.

The results of the March event, in which more than 2500 spirit brands from around 80 countries are subjected to the scrutiny of nearly 70 judges, were released last week, with South Australia’s Ambleside Distillery and Kangaroo Island Spirits winning gold awards in the “Gin of the Year” category.

Ambleside Distillery’s Big Dry Gin scored the best out of more than 200 Australian liquor entries, with the judges awarding the dry and peppery gin 93 points out of a possible 100.

The now multi-award-winning gin from the Hahndorf distillery features “intense and robust botanicals complemented by bold juniper notes”, creating a “warm mouth feel” with a mix of jalapeño, lime, thyme, rosemary, leaf and sage.

Kangaroo Island Spirits picked up a gold award for their Wild Gin – another spicy drop distilled with lime zest, pink peppercorns, boobialla and eau-du-cologne mint. The judges gave it 90 points.

Norway producer Oss Craft Distillery won Gin of the Year for their Barekstein Navy Strength Gin, which wowed the judges to top score with 98 points.

Kangaroo Island Spirits took home silver awards for their Old Tom Gin (84 points) and Mulberry Gin (76 points), along with a bronze award for their O Gin (73 points).

The judges also awarded Ambleside Distillery with silver awards for their Mandarin Gin (86 points), No.8 Botanical Gin (79 points) and Small Acre Gin (79 points).

Ambleside Distillery co-founder Matt Dickson said his company, established just six years ago, is “punching well above [its] weight on the global stage”.

“We’re still on cloud nine to have had the news about winning Best in Show from Australia at what is such a respected international competition,” he said in a statement.

“We take pride in the crafting of our spirits and how our packaging and brand philosophy will appeal to consumers, so it’s hugely rewarding to have this recognised by a panel of experts.”

Business Events: AEDA Business Summit, Personal Wellbeing Masterclass

The Adelaide Economic Development Agency will host its inaugural business summit this month, with the state’s industry leaders set to weigh in on their vision for Adelaide’s post-COVID economy.

AEDA says the event, set to be held from 9am to 4:30pm at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday, May 25, will bring together key figures in property, retail, tourism and economics to “share insights and ideas informing the future state of Adelaide and a vision for local business collaboration”.

Tickets cost $160 per person or $1500 for a table of 10. Early-bird sales are on offer until May 3.

Meanwhile, WellCity Adelaide is hosting a Personal Wellbeing Masterclass for managers, entrepreneurs and business leaders at the Stirling Hotel next month.

The five-part training course, run by licensed Be Well co-trainer Biela McMillan, will provide education on wellbeing foundations, self-compassions, defensiveness, psychological flexibility, meaning and purpose and mindfulness.

Tickets for the June 7 event cost $2200 per person.