The Liberman Family

The Liberman family controls a significant amount of real estate, primarily through their investment vehicles. Their property portfolio is extensive, spanning across most Australian states. The Libermans co-founded CVS Lane Capital Partners, Impact Investment Group (through Small Giants) and JLIG Investment Group, and have backed large-scale and high-risk developments through companies such as Monark Property Partners and Merrick Capital.

CVS Lane, Monark and Merrick Capital are private lenders which specialise in debt financing for property developers. As private lenders, they enjoy less regulatory oversight than traditional banks and operate with aggressive lending practices, enforcing severe debt recovery conditions when loans default. This was the case in the development of the high-end boutique Melbourne Place project, for instance. When the borrower defaulted on their loan obligations, Merricks Capital, which allegedly has around $2.9 billion in assets, placed the project into voluntary administration in late 2022. The completed development is expected to result in significant returns for the Liberman family, given its projected value of $155 million under new management.

Liberman-backed non-bank lenders contribute considerably to the current housing affordability crisis in Australia, fuelling speculative demand and “land banking”, which reduces the immediate supply of housing and drives up land prices. They also fund the practice of building for investment rather than occupancy, investing mostly in luxury developments. Despite its ethical image, Berry Liberman’s Impact Investment Group (IIG) primarily caters to wealthy investors, exacerbating wealth inequality and therefore negating its stated goal of being a “force for good”. Additionally, in 2020, IIG faced a lawsuit for allegedly acting dishonestly in a deal for the development of a “green” office tower in Sydney’s Central Park.

Aside from its activities in the property market, the family has been scrutinised for its investments in other companies. In 2015, the company Cleanevent was accused of systematically underpaying casual workers by locking them into unfavourable enterprise agreements. The Libermans had lost money investing in Cleanevent, but through the company’s controversial deal with the union which disadvantaged workers in this way, the Libermans were able to save millions of dollars.

The Libermans have also been controlling shareholders in the First International Bank of Israel and Paz Oil, Israel’s largest petroleum company. Most recently, Josh Liberman has invested in Israeli cybersecurity technology through his partnership with 10D, a firm based in Tel Aviv.

Although there is limited publicly available information about the Libermans’ recent contributions to arts organisations, they have previously supported institutions such as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.