Oakshield

Business Advisory & Brokerage

Wisdom Creating Wealth & Protection

Our Story

“Some people are born with a gift for business. I was born with a gift for transforming them.”

Over the course of a long and eventful career, I have made hundreds of millions of dollars, lost significant sums, and emerged from each experience wiser, stronger, and more capable than before. I have reinvented myself several times across different industries and geographies — and in doing so, I have learned something that very few business advisors can claim: I know what true wealth looks, feels, and requires.

My professional life has been built around one core discipline: taking businesses that are underperforming — or outright failing — and transforming them into profitable, sustainable enterprises. Below are a few of the most significant chapters in that journey.

A Career Built on Transformation

Holeproof — Group Financial Controller

As Group Financial Controller, I oversaw the management of ten business divisions, helping to consolidate and align operations that positioned Holeproof as one of the most financially robust clothing groups in Australia. This role sharpened my understanding of how disciplined financial governance translates into competitive advantage — and how neglecting it can quietly erode even the strongest brand.

Century Battery — Undercover Sales Turnaround

Deployed as an undercover sales representative to diagnose a struggling operation from the inside, I rapidly identified the root causes of underperformance and implemented a targeted recovery strategy. Within a short period, the business had become significantly profitable — so much so that it attracted acquisition interest. The company was ultimately purchased by a consortium that included Yuasa Batteries, validating the value that had been created.

Exide Batteries UK — International Acquisition & Revival

Acting on behalf of an Indonesian investment group, I led the acquisition of Exide Batteries UK — a loss-making business in need of fundamental restructuring. Through a combination of operational reform, financial discipline, and strategic repositioning, the business was transformed into a highly profitable enterprise. This experience reinforced my belief that almost any business can be turned around with the right insight, the right plan, and the commitment to execute.

Peregrine Developments — Building from Zero

Perhaps the most personally rewarding chapter of my earlier career was the founding and growth of Peregrine Developments. Starting with nothing, I built a development company that, within six years, had grown to encompass over 100 properties across the Gold Coast and Hunter Valley. This venture taught me that the principles of business transformation apply equally to building something from scratch — vision, financial rigour, and relentless focus on execution.

The Birth of Oakshield

Oakshield was founded in 1999 — not as a conventional brokerage, but as a vehicle for passing on everything I had learned across two decades of business and accounting. My philosophy was simple: the greatest gift I could offer another business owner was not just a transaction, but a transformation in how they think about money, value, and wealth.

That teaching mindset became the foundation of Oakshield’s reputation — and the reason our clients achieve results that surprise even themselves.

Our slogan — Wisdom Creating Wealth & Protection — is not a tagline. It is a precise description of what we do every day: we apply hard-won wisdom to help business owners build genuine, lasting wealth, and we protect that wealth with the kind of strategic foresight that only comes from having navigated the full spectrum of business success and failure firsthand.

A Track Record That Speaks for Itself

Over more than two decades, Oakshield has:

Brokered the successful sale of over 150 businesses, with combined transaction value exceeding $100 million

Developed, built, and marketed over 850 properties throughout Central Queensland

Guided countless business owners from financial uncertainty to genuine wealth and security

The Wayne Land Story — A Case Study in Vision

One of the most compelling examples of what Oakshield makes possible is the story of Wayne Land.

Between 2004 and 2005, Oakshield brokered the acquisition of four separate electrical businesses for a single buyer — Wayne Land. The vision was to consolidate these independent operations into a unified enterprise capable of operating at a scale that none could achieve alone. That vision was fully realised: the combined business went on to employ nearly 200 people and became a service provider to some of Australia’s largest companies.

In 2007, Wayne successfully sold the business — a testament to the value that had been carefully built over those years. Rather than step away from business entirely, Wayne joined Oakshield as a partner. Together, we have since completed the development of 450 properties and successfully marketed and sold a further 400 properties in Central Queensland.

“Wayne’s journey from client to partner is, in many ways, the story of Oakshield itself: we build relationships, not just transactions.”

How We Work

After more than two decades of working with business owners across every industry, I have arrived at a conclusion that surprises many people: more than 90 percent of business owners would benefit significantly from a deeper understanding of accounting and money management.

This is not a criticism — it is simply the reality of how most people come to business. They are experts in what they do, not necessarily in the financial mechanics that determine whether doing it is making them wealthy or merely keeping them busy.

Our engagement process reflects this understanding:

Deep Financial Analysis.

We conduct a comprehensive review of five years of financial data. Numbers do not lie — and a well-read set of financials tells the complete story of a business: whether cash is growing or shrinking, whether debt is being reduced or accumulated, and whether the balance of assets and liabilities is trending in the right direction.

Based on our findings, we prepare a clear and honest summary of where the business stands — and a detailed plan for where it could go. This is not generic advice. It is a tailored roadmap built around your specific circumstances, goals, and timeline.

Once the analysis and plan are accepted, we formalise our engagement through a mutual agreement that sets out precisely how Oakshield and the client will work together to increase the value of the business, with the ultimate goal of enabling its sale at the highest achievable price.

We do not take on every business that approaches us. We work with sellers who are genuinely committed to the process — prepared to act on the advice they receive and to do the work required to achieve the plan. This selectivity is not arrogance; it is respect for the clients we serve and the results we guarantee.

Our Vision for the Future

The new Oakshield is built around a clear philosophy: depth over breadth.

We have no interest in maintaining a high volume of listings and delivering mediocre outcomes. Our intention is to work with a deliberately limited number of businesses at any one time, ensuring that every client receives the full weight of our attention, experience, and expertise.

As we grow, we will selectively engage brokers who share our values — self-motivated professionals driven by genuine outcomes, not commissions. We will deepen our specialisation in a number of carefully chosen industries where our track record and reputation are strongest.

Our ambition is simple: to be the best business advisory and brokerage practice in Australia for the clients we choose to serve — and to ensure that every one of those clients finishes their journey with us wealthier, wiser, and better protected than when they started.

“Wisdom creating wealth and protection — this is not merely our slogan. It is our promise.”

The Secret of Wisdom