News
Sex'n'city, Planet debuts
Published: Apr 30, 2003 - 08:46 PM
MICKEY Mouse may not like it, but Melbourne brothel Daily Planet aims to open a "sex Disneyland" in Sydney's CBD.
Chief executive Andrew Harris yesterday said the idea for an amusement park-like bordello came from former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.
Chief executive Andrew Harris yesterday said the idea for an amusement park-like bordello came from former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.
At this stage, all Harris can tell us, is "it's a great concept which should be a more expansive enterprise than just a freestanding brothel".
Also, market talk suggests The Daily Planet is negotiating with two well-known American personalities to join the board.
Today is somewhat historic for Australia's maligned sex industry, with the shares trading for the first time on Australian Stock Exchange.
The company raised $3.5 million in its initial public offering - public float - with one of the new 600 shareholders outlaying $1 million.
Mr Harris said he has withdrawn plans to convert the Barclay Hotel in Kings Cross into a mega-brothel.
He didn't want to get caught up in the middle of council wrangling while the company was trying to float.
The new property, apparently offered to him on Tuesday, is in the CBD and is three times the size of the Barclay and generally "more palatable to council".
First stage is to set up a head office in Sydney. Prostitution laws in Melbourne were "draconian" compared with Sydney, Mr Harris said.
"Prostitution is completely decriminalised in Sydney and we are going to build a monster," he said.
The company also wants to franchise The Daily Planet venues in Perth, Brisbane together with a second site in Melbourne.
Ms Fleiss, contracted to develop business ideas for The Daily Planet for the next 12 months, is in Melbourne this week for the ASX launch.
She spent three years in prison for money laundering, tax evasion and attempted pandering in the US.
She famously never gave details of the Hollywood celebrities who were supposed to be contained in her little black book.
There is talk Oscar winner Nicole Kidman will play Ms Fleiss in a new Hollywood movie, Pay The Girl.
"Now Ms Fleiss has seen how we operate, she really does love it and she wants to help us with worldwide expansion," Mr Harris said.
He reckons the Daily Planet, with Ms Fleiss's industry nous, will establish an international escort agency within months.
"Heidi's ideas, her background, her knowledge have helped us a great deal," Mr Harris said. "The international novelty value with Heidi promoting it has been massive - these shares can go anywhere."
But it hasn't been an easy road to the ASX since the idea was first mooted in 1994.
"The establishment did not want a brothel on the stock exchange," Mr Harris said.
"It's only because we were the biggest and the best that we could afford to do it.
"We have fought every institution, every law firm ... it's cost us a fortune but now we're going on a massive expansion. "Everything in our business is about location."
Also, market talk suggests The Daily Planet is negotiating with two well-known American personalities to join the board.
Today is somewhat historic for Australia's maligned sex industry, with the shares trading for the first time on Australian Stock Exchange.
The company raised $3.5 million in its initial public offering - public float - with one of the new 600 shareholders outlaying $1 million.
Mr Harris said he has withdrawn plans to convert the Barclay Hotel in Kings Cross into a mega-brothel.
He didn't want to get caught up in the middle of council wrangling while the company was trying to float.
The new property, apparently offered to him on Tuesday, is in the CBD and is three times the size of the Barclay and generally "more palatable to council".
First stage is to set up a head office in Sydney. Prostitution laws in Melbourne were "draconian" compared with Sydney, Mr Harris said.
"Prostitution is completely decriminalised in Sydney and we are going to build a monster," he said.
The company also wants to franchise The Daily Planet venues in Perth, Brisbane together with a second site in Melbourne.
Ms Fleiss, contracted to develop business ideas for The Daily Planet for the next 12 months, is in Melbourne this week for the ASX launch.
She spent three years in prison for money laundering, tax evasion and attempted pandering in the US.
She famously never gave details of the Hollywood celebrities who were supposed to be contained in her little black book.
There is talk Oscar winner Nicole Kidman will play Ms Fleiss in a new Hollywood movie, Pay The Girl.
"Now Ms Fleiss has seen how we operate, she really does love it and she wants to help us with worldwide expansion," Mr Harris said.
He reckons the Daily Planet, with Ms Fleiss's industry nous, will establish an international escort agency within months.
"Heidi's ideas, her background, her knowledge have helped us a great deal," Mr Harris said. "The international novelty value with Heidi promoting it has been massive - these shares can go anywhere."
But it hasn't been an easy road to the ASX since the idea was first mooted in 1994.
"The establishment did not want a brothel on the stock exchange," Mr Harris said.
"It's only because we were the biggest and the best that we could afford to do it.
"We have fought every institution, every law firm ... it's cost us a fortune but now we're going on a massive expansion. "Everything in our business is about location."
