Greg Shaw admits there was scepticism when Macquarie Bank first started buying up tenpin bowling alleys - places known for their greasy food, noisy kids' parties and shoes usually worn only by clowns.
People wondered why the bank would buy into a business that had been forgotten, the Macquarie Leisure Trust boss told journalists at a real estate briefing late last month. But the millionaire factory has applied its Midas touch to yet another real estate asset, buying Australia's largest group of bowling alleys, AMF, from Chicago private equity practice Hennessy and Simmons in 2005, targeting inefficiencies and turning the company around.
It's done the same to Gold Coast theme parks Dreamworld and WhiteWater World. Shaw says corporate functions are the big area for growth in tenpin bowling.
"Most of us in this room may go tenpin bowling this year," he told the briefing.
"Maybe next year, Greg," one journalist quipped.
