The celebrity chef who has become synonymous with high-end cuisine in Melbourne, Shannon Bennett, has sold a majority stake in his hospitality empire to Singapore's wealthiest family for nearly $15 million.
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The secret deal with billionaire brothers Robert and Philip Ng involves a portfolio of the city's top eateries, including flagship restaurant Vue de Monde, Bistro Vue in Little Collins Street, Cafe Vue at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Jardin Tan at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Lui Bar in the Rialto building, burger chain Benny Burger and the Burnham Beeches redevelopment project.
In return, the MasterChef star will act as the culinary brand ambassador for what is expected to be a substantial restaurant expansion into Asia and the United States.
Documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission reveal Singapore-based company Golden Developments Private Limited took a controlling interest in Mr Bennett's Vue Group in September.
Golden Developments is a subsidiary of Far East Organization, Singapore's largest private property developer, which has splurged more than $500 million on residential and commercial developments in Sydney and Melbourne over the past three years. Far East Orchard Limited, another subsidiary, operates hotels in Singapore and Malaysia.
Forbes magazine estimates the owners the Ng brothers' fortune at $8.7 billion.
The deal, which saw the Vue Group's shareholding valued at $22.5 million, has not been formally announced by either party. Far East now owns $14.6 million worth of shares.
When contacted on Friday, Mr Bennett said his expansion plans for the Vue Group – particularly the Burnham Beeches hotel project – involved seeking funding from another partner.
"What I'm doing over the next 12 months with Far East group, and structuring what I'm doing with these guys, is about establishing the Vue de Monde brand and the associated brands with it so that they are going to be here for the long run," Mr Bennett told Fairfax Media.
"I'm not selling out anything to do with the Vue Group – I'm literally doing this so I can realise my ambition."
The deal has already spawned plans for a venture in Los Angeles next year, where Mr Bennett and his new partners will open a smokehouse restaurant under the Vue brand, headed by former Vue de Monde executive chef Justin James. He also plans to open 12 Benny Burger outlets in Melbourne and Sydney within the next 18 months.
Mr Bennett, who retains a 35 per cent ownership stake in Vue Group, opened his first restaurant in 2000, aged 24, after returning to Melbourne from a stint working with the likes of legendary chef Marco Pierre White in England.
The deal includes a stake in the Burnham Beeches project, a 1930s mansion in the Yarra Ranges that Mr Bennett and property investor Adam Garrison planned to turn into a luxury "gourmet retreat".
The venture has been the subject of a protracted planning dispute over its scale and potential impact on the local community. The state government is expected to make a decision on the planning issue at the end of January.
Since establishing his first restaurant almost 16 years ago, Mr Bennett and his partner, actor Madeleine West, have amassed a significant portfolio of trophy homes, including a South Yarra mansion worth almost $5 million, a coastal estate at Big Hill near Lorne, and a $2 million block of land on Byron Bay's foreshore, as well as a collection of contemporary art.
The flagship Vue de Monde restaurant, which moved to the 55th floor of the Rialto in 2011, regained its third hat at The Age Good Food Guide awards on September 12.
