Birch & Waite Foods

Investment decisions are led by second-generation family members, with Ben Hanna serving as Managing Director of both the food manufacturing business and the family's investment activities. The office operates without a separate external CIO, maintaining a tight integration between operational cash flow and capital deployment.

The family office and the Birch & Waite Foods manufacturing operation are the same controlling entity—no external sale or separation has occurred. Profits from the food business, which supplies products to Coles and Woolworths, directly fund the family office's real estate, agricultural, and private equity investments.

The wealth originates from Charles Hanna's 1986 founding of Birch & Waite Foods. He developed fresh-chilled dip and sauce recipes that won exclusive private-label contracts with Australia's dominant supermarket chains, building a manufacturing business that now produces over 70 chilled product lines.

Birch & Waite is a single-family office that does not manage external capital. While the group has co-invested alongside other families in specific property syndications, it does not operate as a multi-family office or fund manager soliciting LP commitments.

The office concentrates on three areas: direct Australian commercial real estate (pubs, industrial logistics, and office properties), agricultural land (grazing and protein-exposed holdings), and private equity opportunities adjacent to the food and beverage sector. The group does not operate a formal venture strategy and avoids speculative technology allocations.