Embattled Perth developer hit with lawsuits to repossess beachfront mansions

Embattled Perth property tycoon Ricky Dean Hirsch may lose his premium beachfront mansions after being hit with two lawsuits over claims he is liable for more than $5 million in unpaid loans.

According to a writ lodged in the WA Supreme Court, Sydney-based Prime Capital Securities claims it inked two loan agreements with the now-defunct construction arm of Hirsch’s Fulfil The Dream venture, FTD Construction, in July 2021.

Under the deal, Prime Capital claims it advanced more than $4 million for two properties at 42 West Coast Drive, Marmion.

But not even 12 months later, FTD was allegedly already in default.

Prime Capital claims it hit FTD with two written demands on February 28, 2023, in which it claimed the company was in breach of its loan deal and sought more than $414,000 in accrued repayments.

The firm alleged Hirsch was also notified of the demand because he had penned a guarantee, and was told to vacate the property if the default couldn’t be rectified.

But the debt allegedly continued to snowball.

In November, FTD was served with a written notice demanding the repayment of $5 million, being the initial advance, interest and other fees.

Prime Capital claimed the written notices had fallen on deaf ears and called on the Supreme Court to intervene by slapping Hirsch with an order to deliver up the properties.

Hirsch purchased the 910-square-metre Marmion property in July 2016, constructing a three-storey five bedroom, three-bathroom mansion with panoramic ocean views and a six-car garage.

He later built a second three-storey home at the rear, complete with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a pool.

According to property records seen by this masthead, both of the homes are still in his name.

The lawsuit comes just months after Hirsch’s FTD Construction collapsed into liquidation with debts nearing $9 million.

The developer, who helmed the Fulfil The Dream brand, had already been refused renewal of its building contractor registration after the Building Services Board ruled it was not satisfied it met financial, management and supervision requirements.

The decision was based on advice formulated after a probe into the company’s affairs by the WA building watchdog.

According to its website, FTD operated by entering profit-share partnerships with high net-worth and institutional foreign investors and spearheading large and small-scale luxury developments in “prime locations”.

Investors and clients had taken to social media claiming their home builds had stalled, the company had cut contact, and they had been left high and dry.

The criticism of Hirsch had taken place against a backdrop of pictures circulating online of him and his partner on lavish overseas holidays and in luxury vehicles.

Hirsch is reportedly overseas.

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