LJ Hooker is one of Australia's largest real estate groups, with 600 franchise offices and 6,000 people engaged in residential and commercial property sales and property management. The company was founded in 1928 by Sir Leslie Joseph Hooker and after being sold to a private company for 20 years, the company returned to family hands in 2009.
History
The first LJ Hooker office was opened in Maroubra, New South Wales in 1928. Following the Depression, the company expanded and opened offices in Sydney, Kensington, Kingsford and Randwick. In 1936, LJ Hooker purchased the real estate business and offices of Woods & Co. in Kensington and Kingsford.
In 1946, LJ Hooker bought the real estate business of Harold Bray Pty Ltd in Bondi Beach. and in 1951 the Manly office was opened after the purchase of Thorn Coleman & Co. LJ Hooker's expansion continued, and by 1953 the agency was the largest real estate agency in Australia. In 1955 Hooker Rex was established for the development of new homes in Batemans Bay, Kogarah and the Gold Coast through Hooker Rex Pty Ltd. In 1963, Hooker House was opened in Sydney. Hooker Project offices were opened in Melbourne in 1966, Brisbane in 1967, Perth in 1968, and Townsville and Canberra in 1969. In 1989, LJ Hooker owed $1.77 billion, In 2015, Janusz Hooker and other shareholders bought out the minority shareholders to consolidate ownership of the company. This move proved ill-conceived, with such ventures as the purchase and operation of several storied American department store chains as B. Altman & Co., Bonwit Teller, Sakowitz and Parisian stores, to be used as anchors for a number of large shopping malls in the United States.
Most of the department store chains were liquidated with large economic and employment losses. The one mall complex that was constructed during Herscu's tenure, the Forest Fair Mall in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, went through numerous changes in ownership and operations. and Papua New Guinea. In 2003, LJ Hooker purchased the real estate franchise group Olsen & Everson.
In October 2004, Grahame Cooke stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Warren McCarthy.
In October 2009, Suncorp confirmed it sold its LJ Hooker real estate chain business to Janusz Hooker, the grandson of founder Sir Leslie Hooker, for $67 million. In July 2015, he also bought out the investors to take full control of the group.
In November 2010, LJ Hooker acquired Harveys Real Estate Group in New Zealand. is the holding company, and LJ Hooker Limited is the trading entity. Hooker Corporation Limited's ACN is 003 890 444 and the ACN of L.J. Hooker Limited is 003 890 4553. LJ Hooker is a franchise operation. The real estate side of the business is done by franchise owners. Grant Harrod was appointed chief executive officer and managing director in 2014.
Subsidiaries
LJ Hooker has also established an independent incorporated legal practice trading as LJ Hooker Conveyancing NSW, which is a division of Guardian Conveyancers Pty Ltd (ACN 136 790 022). The business is independently owned and operated under licence from LJ Hooker Limited. LJ Hooker Conveyancing is located in Sydney. In Western Australia it uses LJ Hooker Settlements to do their conveyancing.
Logos
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File:LJ Hooker Logo 1937.png|1937
File:LJ Hooker Logo 1948.png|1948
File:LJ Hooker Logo 1953.png|1953
File:LJ Hooker Logo 1959.png|1959
File:LJ Hooker Logo 1969.png|1969
File:LJ Hooker Logo 1993.png|1993
File:LJ_Hooker_Logo_in_2015.png|2015 (a similar logo was used in the 2000s)
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