- Frank Renouf
Sir Francis Henry (Frank) Renouf, (
31 July 1918 -13 September 1998 ) was a prominentNew Zealand tycoon andfinancier . His obituary in the "Dominion" was headed: "Flamboyant Renouf shook starch out of financial world".He was born in Wellington and educated at Wellington College and
Victoria University College . He then joined the 2nd NZEF as a Captain, was captured in Greece, and spent most of the war in a German POW camp. He then studied for a Diploma atWorcester College , Oxford and was anOxford Blue in tennis fron 1948 to 1949.He was a businessman and a stockbroker from 1950, as a partner in the Wellington stockbroking firm of "Daysh, Renouf" with Harry Edgar Duff Daysh, known as Duff. The firm was originally Daysh, Longuet and Frethey, with Geoff Longuet and Edmund Albertus (Bert) Frethey. Renouf was blackballed from joining the Wellesley Club because of the circumstances of him joining Daysh and Frethey, as business then had a "gentleman's club" atmosphere (Jesson pages 102-103)
In the 1980s and 1990's he became a prominent business celebrity in
Australia andNew Zealand . He introduced unit trusts to New Zealand, and New Zealand's first merchant bank. Upon the death of Harry Edgar Duff Daysh in 1975 Sir Francis Henry Renouf later removed the Daysh name the stockbroking firm Daysh, Renouf & Co. and it became known as Frank Renouf & Co. He set up three companies in 1981, Frank Renouf & Co, Renouf Corporation and Renouf Property. In the 1987 sharemarket crash he lost 90% of his fortune.He was married three times. He was knighted in 1987. He was President of the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association 1985-86. The Renouf Tennis Centre in Wellington is named after him. He died in 1998 in Wellington.
His second wife (1985) was
Susan Renouf (formerly Susan Peacock and Susan Sangster), a thrice-married socialite; she called him "Frank the Bank" after her divorce.His third wife (1991) was
Michele Renouf , to whom he was briefly married.References
*Obituary in "Dominion" (Wellington) of 14 September 1998 (pages 1,11).
*"Sir Francis Renouf: an autobiography" (1997, Steele Roberts, Wellington) ISBN 0958371202
*"Behind the Mirror Glass" byBruce Jesson (1987, Penguin)External links
* [http://www.wellingtontennis.org.nz/renouf_centre.cfm Renouf Tennis Centre website]
* [http://www.wellingtonnz.com/sights_activities/wellington_tennis_renouf_centre Renouf Tennis Centre]
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