{"id":64981,"date":"2026-08-04T12:40:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T12:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/64981\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T12:40:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T12:40:52","slug":"nick-perrett-symple-loans-case-accountant-wins-6-4m-side-hustle-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/64981\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Perrett Symple Loans Case: Accountant Wins $6.4m Side Hustle Suit"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Melbourne accountant who turned a $250,000 investment in fintech start-up Symple Loans into a $6.4m payday has defeated a legal attempt by his former business partners to claim a share of the windfall.<\/p>\n

Father and son financial executives Paul and Blake Hedley from boutique wealth advisory firm JPH Partnership took Nick Perrett to court after learning through old boys\u2019 connections that their business partner had made a \u201cshitload of money\u201d investing in a client\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

Justice Robert Craig of the Victorian Supreme Court last week ruled the opportunity arose from a personal friendship rather than Mr Perrett\u2019s work, rendering the blurred line between a private side hustle and business a little clearer.<\/p>\n

The judgment detailed how Mr Perrett\u2019s investment came to be worth more than $200m after a Latitide Group takeover. It also cost him a bitter falling out with his partners.<\/p>\n

The Hedleys might never have learned of his $6.4m windfall if not for an overheard locker room conversation at the St Kevin\u2019s Old Boys football club. <\/p>\n

It was recounted in court documents that talk around the club was that Mr Perrett had invested in a client, Symple, but it was hidden from his JPH partners.<\/p>\n

Mr Perrett was defended by commercial litigation specialist Simon Abraham of Melbourne firm Tisher Liner FC Law.<\/p>\n

Symple Loans was founded by former ANZ lending specialists Bob Belan and Paul Byrne in 2018, attracting start-up capital and quickly winning customers disillusioned with the big bank lenders.<\/p>\n

Mr Perrett, the Supreme Court was told, was approached informally in late 2017, when his friend Mr Byrne told him at a World Cup soccer qualifier between Australia and Thailand that he was thinking of leaving ANZ to set up a peer-to-peer lending business.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr Byrne asked Mr Perrett if he was interested because capital may be raised and Mr Perrett replied that he was interested and that he \u2018loved\u2019 the idea,\u201d court documents stated.<\/p>\n

It was during this time Mr Perrett and the Hedleys\u2019 JPH did accounting and compliance work for Symple, starting with basic start-up support and later moving into more formal reporting.<\/p>\n

In return for the investment of $250,000, Mr Perrett received 261,780 shares in Symple. <\/p>\n

In 2019, Mr Perrett and his wife Lisa Perrett, as trustees for the Nick Perrett Superannuation Fund, invested a further $100,000 for 11,148 ordinary shares.<\/p>\n

The timing was perfect. Latitude Group, run by former banker Ahmed Fahour, had just listed on the ASX in a $2.67bn float and, keen to expand its lending business, paid $200m for Symple. Mr Perrett walked away with his profit and a swag of Latitude stock.<\/p>\n

Paul and Blake Hedley claimed to have never known their colleague Mr Perrett was an investor in Symple but for the rumour mill at one of Melbourne\u2019s most expensive and prestigious private schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn about February 2022, Blake (Paul Hedley\u2019s son and business partner) received a phone call from his brother in law who played football at St Kevin\u2019s and who said words to the effect that Nick Perrett had made a shitload of money by investing in a client\u2019s business and that he was telling multiple people about his windfall from investing in the client\u2019s business,\u201d court documents from Paul Hedley state.<\/p>\n

Complicating the matter, part of the Symple investment pitch made to Mr Perrett was at his work, in the JPH offices. <\/p>\n

That said, on Friday in his ruling Justice Craig found that a pitch made at the JPH offices did not make it a work opportunity in the legal sense. The court held that the invitation was formally conveyed at JPH\u2019s offices, but it came to Mr Perrett because he was Mr Byrne\u2019s friend, not because of his role in the partnership. <\/p>\n

The court also held there was no real or substantial conflict between Mr Perrett\u2019s private investment and his duties to the JPH partnership. <\/p>\n

A spokesman for Tisher Liner FC Law said: \u201cThey (Mr and Mrs Perrett) took a risk by investing in a start up and the court has confirmed that the investment opportunity derived from a \u2018longstanding friendship\u2019 rather than a business connection and did not breach disclosure and partnership agreements and laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Hedley told The Australian: \u201cThe judgement was on Friday, our legal team is reviewing it to consider our next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Costs are yet to be determined.<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Start-ups<\/a>\"Eli<\/a>Eli Greenblat<\/a>Senior Business Reporter<\/p>\n

Eli Greenblat is a senior business reporter at The Australian and leads coverage for the paper on the retail and beverages industries as well as covering issues related to supermarket regulation and competition, consumer behaviour, shopping, online retail and food and grocery suppliers. He has previously written for The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Melbourne accountant who turned a $250,000 investment in fintech start-up Symple Loans into a $6.4m payday has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[79859,46924,79911,79807,79855,79900,79880,79867,79912,79924,79869,79815,5859,79876,9310,79843,56835,48534,38577,38951,45913,79833,79910,79864,79871,79875,79819,79842,79872,43724,79821,79925,79820,79851,79856,79852,79879,40443,60728,79857,38640,79889,68671,40881,79902,71953,79809,79854,79812,79886,79846,36934,79928,79844,6429,21541,79825,79919,79877,79923,79862,79893,79907,323,79808,62653,79920,79816,39008,8117,1109,9174,825,79818,50122,38383,79885,79929,17744,79883,3014,79850,79922,9715,79901,79845,53420,79829,79921,79915,43142,79817,79865,79873,38229,49284,79806,37355,79826,79891,49071,79840,79897,79927,79917,79861,3198,79895,37392,53316,79882,79841,79813,79898,79899,3795,79904,79860,260,79863,79836,79834,8937,79896,79881,79918,79805,79831,10964,79878,79837,79892,48761,79884,3121,7019,79887,79838,79830,79848,79853,34917,12977,79814,32124,79827,79890,79866,79916,8961,79908,43806,79835,79894,43941,79870,79913,79839,79847,39770,39856,79868,79914,40959,57255,79858,79811,79823,79828,79909,79849,37516,79926,40224,46422,79906,79874,38234,79832,64406,79824,79888,79822,37452,79903,79810,30261,79905,44794],"class_list":["post-64981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-melbourne","tag-longstanding-friendship","tag-s-business","tag-s-business-justice-robert-craig","tag-s-friend","tag-s-investment","tag-s-offices","tag-s-old-boys-football-club","tag-s-private-investment","tag-s-son-and-business-partner","tag-s-work","tag-6-4m-fintech-side-hustle","tag-6-4m-legal-fight","tag-5859","tag-000-investment","tag-9310","tag-148-ordinary-shares-the-timing","tag-200m","tag-48534","tag-38577","tag-38951","tag-45913","tag-79833","tag-780-shares","tag-a-shitload","tag-a-2-67bn-float","tag-a-250","tag-a-6-4m-payday","tag-a-bitter-falling","tag-a-business-connection","tag-a-client","tag-a-further-100","tag-a-latitide-group-takeover","tag-a-legal-attempt","tag-a-little-clearer-the-judgment","tag-a-melbourne-accountant","tag-a-peer-to-peer-lending-business","tag-a-personal-friendship","tag-a-phone-call","tag-a-pitch","tag-a-private-side-hustle","tag-a-risk","tag-a-share","tag-a-slice","tag-a-spokesman","tag-a-start","tag-a-swag","tag-a-work-opportunity","tag-a-world-cup-soccer-qualifier","tag-accounting-and-compliance-work","tag-aggrieved-partners","tag-ahmed-fahour","tag-an-investor","tag-an-old-boys","tag-an-overheard-locker-room-conversation","tag-anz","tag-asx","tag-australia-and-thailand","tag-basic-start-up-support","tag-blake","tag-blake-hedley","tag-bob-belan","tag-bob-belan-and-paul-byrne","tag-boutique-wealth-advisory-firm-jph-partnership","tag-business","tag-byrne","tag-capital","tag-ceo-bob-belan-mr-perrett","tag-commercial-litigation-specialist-simon-abraham","tag-connections","tag-costs","tag-court","tag-court-battle","tag-court-documents","tag-courtroom-war","tag-craig","tag-customers","tag-disclosure-and-partnership-agreements-and-laws","tag-father-and-son-financial-executives","tag-february-2022","tag-fintech-start-up-symple-loans","tag-football","tag-former-anz-lending-specialists","tag-former-banker-ahmed-fahour","tag-friday","tag-hedleys","tag-his-6-4m-windfall","tag-his-brother","tag-his-duties","tag-his-fintech-side-hustle","tag-his-former-business-partners","tag-his-friend","tag-his-jph-partners-mr-perrett","tag-his-partners-the-hedleys","tag-his-profit","tag-his-role","tag-his-ruling","tag-his-ruling-justice-craig","tag-his-wife","tag-his-wife-lisa-perrett","tag-his-windfall","tag-his-work","tag-ian-curriecomplicating","tag-its-founders","tag-its-lending-business","tag-jph","tag-jph-partnership","tag-justice","tag-justice-craig","tag-last-week","tag-late-2017","tag-latitide-group","tag-latitude","tag-latitude-group","tag-latitude-stock-paul","tag-latitude-stock-paul-and-blake-hedley","tag-law","tag-lisa-perrett","tag-locker-room-rumour","tag-melbourne","tag-melbourne-accountant","tag-melbourne-firm-tisher-liner-fc-law-symple-loans","tag-minority-shareholder-nick-perrett","tag-money","tag-more-formal-reporting-in-return","tag-more-than-200m","tag-mr-and-mrs-perrett","tag-mr-byrne","tag-mr-perrett","tag-multiple-people","tag-nick-perrett","tag-no-real-or-substantial-conflict","tag-old-boys","tag-our-legal-team","tag-our-next-step","tag-part","tag-paul","tag-paul-and-blake-hedley","tag-paul-byrne","tag-paul-hedley","tag-paul-hedley-state-latitude-ceo-ahmed-fahour","tag-perrett","tag-picture","tag-private-schools","tag-robert-craig","tag-side-hustle","tag-simon-abraham","tag-st-kevin","tag-st-kevins-old-boys","tag-start-up-capital","tag-supreme-court","tag-symple","tag-talk","tag-the-200m-acquisition","tag-the-asx","tag-the-australian","tag-the-big-bank-lenders-mr-perrett","tag-the-big-bank-lenders-symple-loans-co-founder","tag-the-blurred-line","tag-the-client","tag-the-club","tag-the-court","tag-the-effect","tag-the-hedleys","tag-the-idea","tag-the-investment","tag-the-investment-opportunity","tag-the-invitation","tag-the-jph-offices","tag-the-jph-partnership","tag-the-judgement","tag-the-legal-sense","tag-the-matter","tag-the-nick-perrett-superannuation-fund","tag-the-opportunity","tag-the-partnership","tag-the-rumour-mill","tag-the-st-kevin","tag-the-supreme-court","tag-the-symple-investment-pitch","tag-the-victorian-supreme-court","tag-the-windfall","tag-their-business-partner","tag-their-colleague","tag-this-time","tag-tisher-liner-fc-law","tag-tisher-liner-fc-law-symple-loans","tag-trustees","tag-victorian-supreme-court","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}