A family construction business just floated on the ASX to a 17% first-day pop, and 36 years of hard slog in the making.
Given the curve balls, especially from governments with their excessive regulations, tax policies and innate inability to encourage and really back innovative businesses trying to grow (as evidenced by the recent Budget changes to the capital gains tax discounts), comes FDC Consolidated. This construction company listed on the Australian stock market and saw its share price soar 17% on the opening bell, which was a great start for the Cottle family-owned construction business.
The Australian newspaper looked at the public company debut of FDC, which is 36 years old and delivered a $350 million payday for Ben and Blake Cottle and some key employees. Successful floats can do that, and it has come as 2026 hasn’t been a great year for new companies listing on the ASX.
As The Australian pointed out: “The builder joins a group of fewer than 20 companies to list this calendar year. The lacklustre group is led by retailers SkinKandy and Koala, with the majority trading below their IPO price.”
This isn’t surprising given the role of the governments of Australia that have seen the economy slow below an historically low 2% growth rate, inflation at 4%, interest rates up three times in a matter of months, petrol prices surging because of the Iran war and a Budget that did nothing to lift business and consumer confidence.
In case you haven’t worked this one out, consumer confidence levels are linked to the value of their most important asset i.e., their home. And if house prices fall (and they’re predicted to fall by 10%) that doesn’t bolster a willingness to spend.
This not only hurts business confidence, if customers aren’t spending, I’m not sure that the Federal Government is aware that hundreds of thousands of small businesses borrow from their banks based on the value of their homes. So, a less valuable property can mean business owners can have lender problems going forward.
Under those circumstances, the success story of FDC has to go down in local business history as a ripper.
For those who wonder what FDC does, its website shows many of its showcase projects, and it’s apparent they create beautiful building spaces and probably the most well-known project for Sydneysiders is the White Bay Power Station (WBPS), which is the heritage site that’s now a key arts and culture hub. FDC did the work that saw this facility open its doors to visitors after 40 years of being a white elephant.
Visiting the FDC website shows you so many beautiful works of art, which many would simply call building and construction. Clearly, the Cottles have created a rare building company. As someone who once wrote a book 350 Ways to Grow Your Small Business (which was even translated for the Chinese market!), these guys have nailed it. And their website is a showcase for what all aspiring business builders should check out.
The Australian reported that “shares in FDC immediately jumped nearly 17 per cent from the IPO price of $3 to $3.50 on a conditional and deferred trading basis on Thursday morning before closing at $3.37.”
On that basis, Ben has seen his payoff grow from $272.5m to around $310m, while Blake sits on a nice figure of around $130m. These kinds of dollars can rise and fall on what stock market players might think on any given day, but history will record that the Cottles are outstanding business builders. And as I’ve said, their website is an inspiration for anyone with aspiration.
Personally, I love the fact that the FDC chief executive Russell Grady, joined this Sydney-based business as a cadet in 2002, and this lesson from his boss is worth noting for anyone who’s trying to build a business or a personal brand as an employee. “If there’s something I’ve learned from Ben, our founder, over the years, it’s always been to focus on what we do best and not get worried about others in the environment and the markets around you.”
It’s great advice that I really wish the governments of Australia took on board. If the likes of Treasurer Jim Chalmers became the coach-like in encouraging business owners to learn from the likes of the Cottles, many of our productivity, inflation and budget deficit problems would dissipate.
It’s time businesses were given a Canberra carrot rather than stick, but I can’t see anyone in the Albanese Government that has a great interest in business.
Here’s a test to prove my point: Who is the Federal Small Business minister? It’s Dr Anne Aly. Who has heard of her?
While great business builders don’t need government encouragement, others do but it’s a point that few governments get.
Government support aside, how does a family business create a billion-dollar operation? As Mr Grady counselled, it’s a focus on being the best you can be. But it’s about the founders taking risks, borrowing money, coping with the stress of leading people and dealing with governments, while being overly committed to self-improvement.
This is a great story that everyone should celebrate along with the 600 employees, who can thank the Cottles for giving them a job and the life their pay bankrolls.
While we give a lot of attention to sports stars, actors and influencers, business builders are champions who often give more than they take.
Anne Aly……not heard of her