The Fall of the House of Du Val

For decades, New Zealand’s love affair with property has pulled everyday investors into schemes that promise certainty and deliver risk. Over and over again, the same story.   In the final episode of The Fall of the House of Du Val, Maria Slade asks whether this cycle is finally starting to break.   She presents the features of a fringe investment to first-year university students to test a simple idea. Are they more financially literate than their parents, or are we raising the next generation of willing believers?   The Retirement Commissioner lays out her Five Golden Rules for Mum and Dad investors, cutting through decades of property mythology with uncomfortable clarity.   For Du Val investors still owed $64 million, the outlook remains bleak. And yet, group founder Kenyon Clarke vows "I'll be back".   Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.   Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade Producer: Hamish Williams Lead Sound Design: Mick AndrewsAdditional Sound Design: Lara HealyExecutive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman   https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-valSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As rumours swirled of work stalling on Du Val sites due to non-payment, subcontractors were left demanding answers. What they got instead were tense meetings and vague promises.   Maria Slade takes us inside a period of mounting pressure, where she hears how frustration on the ground collided with Du Val’s increasingly feverish attempts to control the story.   She also explores the system that enabled Du Val’s rapid rise, including the eligible investor loophole that saw would-be investors targeted by marketing for wholesale products that arguably weren't suited to them.   Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.   Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade Producer: Hamish Williams Lead Sound Design: Mick AndrewsAdditional Sound Design: Lara HealyExecutive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman   https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-valSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big-talking showman and his charismatic wife: Who are Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke?   Maria Slade talks to a Du Val investor and friend who gave Kenyon his start in real estate and describes him as exceptional.   We hear how Kenyon rose phoenix-like from his first business collapse, and as the New Zealand housing market boomed yet again, vowed to create a billion-dollar empire.   The Clarkes were prolific self-promoters, even making a reality tv series about themselves.   But was it a veneer?   Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.   Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade Producer: Hamish Williams Lead Sound Design: Mick AndrewsAdditional Sound Design: Lara HealyExecutive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman   https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-valSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.