Merivale group founder John Hemmes dies; ParcelPoint raises $7 million in capital: Midday Roundup

John Hemmes, founder of the iconic Merivale hospitality group, has lost his battle with cancer, passing away at the age of 83 in Sydney.

Hemmes is the patriarch of the Merivale portfolio, which lists more than 50 Sydney restaurants, bars and hotels under its umbrella, including Mr Wong and Coogee Pavilion.

Merivale was established as a fashion house 59 years ago, and has since grown into one of the biggest hospitality empires in Sydney.

The Hemmes family released a statement announcing the death “with great sadness”, according to the Herald Sun.

ParcelPoint raises $7 million in capital

Retail delivery network ParcelPoint has raised $7 million in capital through a funding round led by Blue Sky Venture Capital.

ParcelPoint, which offers delivery services to some of Australia’s largest online retailers including The ICONIC and Surfstitch, will use the money to expand its network and team.

“We plan to more than double our network and retailer partnerships and expect our headcount to grow by around 50 per cent over the next financial year,” chief executive and co-founder Mehdi Fassaie said in a statement.

The service has recently begun offering customers the ability to collect and return online purchases seven days a week and after hours.

Local shares up

Local shares are up this morning, despite following a sluggish end of the week on Wall St.

“News of China’s rate cut should help buyer mood this morning, compensating for a weak lead from the US market,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

“However, while news of lower borrowing costs will help support equity valuations and be seen as a positive for commodity demand, market response may be limited.”

Spooner also said the Australian stock market had come through reporting season in “relatively good shape”.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was up 40.8 points to 5969.6points at 12:05PM AEST. On Friday, the Dow Jones closed down 0.45%, falling 81.72 points to 18,132.7 points.