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Soul Patts
Soul Patts began when Lewy Pattinson opened a pharmacy in Balmain in 1886, later merging with Washington H. Soul's business and incorporating in 1903.
Soul Patts
Soul Patts began when Lewy Pattinson opened a pharmacy in Balmain in 1886, later merging with Washington H. Soul's business and incorporating in 1903. Today, Robert Millner AO — Pattinson's great-grandson — chairs the board, representing the fourth generation of family oversight. The firm evolved from a 300-store pharmacy network into a diversified ASX-listed investment house whose portfolio once held large stakes in Brickworks, New Hope, and what became TPG Telecom. The firm deploys capital across listed equities, private companies, private credit, and real assets without a fixed allocation. Its merger with Milton Corporation in 2021 scaled the portfolio to $5.8B; the 2025 merger with Brickworks simplified the cross-shareholding structure and lifted the portfolio above $13B. Confirmed holdings span building materials through Brickworks, telecommunications through TPG Telecom, and a 19.3% stake in Australian pharmacy operations sold to Wesfarmers in 2021. The investment team participates in both direct co-investments and listed-market positions, targeting Australia but with the flexibility to evaluate opportunities globally. Soul Patts operates with roughly 50 professionals from its Sydney head office. The small, close-knit team is led by CEO Todd Barlow and CFO David Grbin, with all members involved in investment decisions. In 2025, the firm merged with Brickworks, creating a newly capitalised ASX50 entity with a 123-year dividend record. Workforce disclosure indicates 50% female employees and 36% female senior managers as of July 2025. What structurally differentiates Soul Patts is its architecture as a publicly traded permanent-capital vehicle governed by a founding family — a structure that removes redemption risk and allows the firm to hold positions across generations. The unconstrained mandate sits inside a listed company, giving shareholders daily liquidity while the portfolio itself invests in illiquid private assets and long-dated real estate without facing redemption demands.
General information
Firm type
Generalist
Year founded
1886
AUM
>$13B (per the firm, 2025)
Location
Region
Oceania
Country
Australia
City
Sydney
Corporate office
Level 8, 121 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Principals
Robert Millner AO
Chairman
Todd Barlow
Managing Director & CEO
David Grbin
Chief Financial Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Soul Patts?
Managing Director and CEO Todd Barlow leads the investment team, with all members of the close-knit group actively involved in decisions. The firm describes its culture as its competitive advantage, built on peer review and robust debate. Robert Millner AO chairs the board, representing the fourth generation of the founding family.
How is Soul Patts structured — is it a family office or a public company?
Soul Patts is an ASX-listed diversified investment house with a founding family chairing the board. It operates as a permanent-capital vehicle, giving shareholders daily liquidity while the underlying portfolio invests across public equities, private companies, credit, and real assets. This structure removes redemption risk typical of fund managers.
Does Soul Patts invest in private markets or only listed equities?
The firm invests across private companies, private credit, and real assets alongside a listed equities portfolio. Its mergers with Milton Corporation and Brickworks expanded its private-market reach and gave it the scale to pursue a wide range of unlisted opportunities. The portfolio houses more than 200 individual investments across public and private markets.
What is Soul Patts's dividend track record?
Soul Patts has never missed a dividend payment since listing on the ASX in 1903, and has increased dividend payments every year since 2000 — a 123-year unbroken distribution history as of 2026. This is a direct result of its permanent-capital structure and cash-generating portfolio.
How did the Milton Corporation and Brickworks mergers change Soul Patts?
The 2021 Milton Corporation acquisition transformed Soul Patts's scale and liquidity, making it one of Australia's largest listed investment companies. The 2025 Brickworks merger simplified a long-standing cross-shareholding structure and lifted the combined portfolio above $13B, placing the firm in the ASX50 index.
What is the founding family's ongoing role?
Chairman Robert Millner AO is the great-grandson of Lewy Pattinson, who opened the first Soul Patts pharmacy in 1886. The firm remains one of the few Australian public companies managed by the same family from the outset, with the fourth generation overseeing governance through the board while a professional management team runs day-to-day investing.
Which sectors does Soul Patts explicitly avoid?
Soul Patts does not publish a formal exclusion list, but its historic holdings cluster around industrial, retail, media, telecommunications, building materials, resources, and financial services. The firm's unconstrained mandate allows it to pivot to wherever it identifies superior risk-adjusted returns, so sector avoidance is driven by opportunity assessment rather than a predetermined negative screen.
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