Society Insider: Mark Francis' new luxury car facility; Eric Watson's son Sam's new MDMA business; Urban Polo's Sam Hopkinson and wife Elisha's fab life

NZ Herald

18-06-2025

Zlatko Filipchich at Auckland's new luxury car storage facility, Matchbox. Photo / Supplied
The new storage facility, completed last month, is a passion project by friends Filipchich and Francis.
Society Insider met with the pair for a tour of the facility and was amazed at their attention to detail in storing prized automotive possessions.
Among the Aston Martins, Ferraris, Porsches and McLarens are a generous number of Euro and American classics as well as Japanese supercars.
Filipchich says it suits collectors like himself, whose urban abode can only fit two cars. As well as storing the cars, staff at the facility take care of the admin that comes with ownership.
'I have five cars and I'm time poor.
'It was not enjoyable having them scattered around and maintaining WOF checks – the older cars require inspections every six months – registrations renewals, insurance updates and arranging vehicle maintenance.'
Filipchich describes Matchbox as a one-stop shop for it all and although it might seem like a luxurious storage for wealthy people, he is quick to say that many members are simply car lovers, above all else.
'There are also secret shoppers who don't want their other halves to know about their latest purchase,' adds Francis.
Cars at the Penrose facility. Photo / Supplied.
Matchbox's position between the airport and the CBD is purposeful for Queenstown residents with lock-up and leave city pads in Auckland, or overseas owners of beach houses in places such as Tara Iti.
'They can land and come and pick up their car here, and drive straight to the course,' says Francis.
Matchbox also provides a pick-up and delivery service for clients whether it's to their home, beach house or racetrack.
'It's not just high-performance cars; race cars, track day cars and motorbikes we give a second home to here; these cars have history, whether in the market or the owners' lives,' Filipchich says.
'That original Mini 1000 in the corner holds the memory of a few first hook-ups for its owner.
'Many of our members have names for their cars, that's Maxine over there.'
Matchbox has been curated like an art gallery, with lighting designed to highlight the collection in storage.
Some cars have their covers on, and every car's number plate is covered for the privacy and security of each member.
'Some members like to show their cars, some members prefer discretion and absolute privacy, but all of our members demand the best security,' says Francis.
Business partners Mark Francis and Zlatko Filipchich.
There are regular events planned for members, on the premises and on planned drive days. There will be events further afield, with one planned with Queenstown's Ayrburn, which launched its inaugural Classic this year.
Such is the buzz around town about the facility, Filipchich and Francis have been inundated with requests for high-end events, fundraisers and fashion shows.
The smart-looking Fort Knox-style building provides several key features including state-of-the-art security and climate control, with all vehicles trickle-charged. The charging provides a low, consistent flow of current to a battery over time, mostly used for maintaining battery charge during periods of inactivity.
Matchbox offers a members' lounge at the storage facility. Photo / Supplied
Pride of place is a life-size bronze sculpture of a security guard by New Zealand artist Michael Parekowhai called Paratene. He stands guard like a friendly shadow and is said to be worth more than many of the collectibles in the facility.
'We have been working with Deanna Pearton, who is curating Matchbox's art collection with Michael Lett Galleries,' says Francis.
Filipchich moved on from a successful career in IT a decade ago and started working fulltime on his passion for cars.
While he doesn't want to give too many of his trade secrets away, Filipchich sources rare or coveted cars overseas for local owners and then sorts their compliance in New Zealand.
Francis met Filipchich when he sourced him a Mercedes-Benz Pagoda six years ago.
'Mark and I aren't just passionate about cars, we are each other's kind of people,' says Filipchich.
Francis is one of New Zealand's most successful men in property with a career spanning more than 25 years across financial and real estate markets.
Last November, Society Insider revealed he was a major shareholder in the new $100 Auckland Surf Park in Dairy Flat.
Matchbox's branding outside is subtle; the black building is accentuated with bronze mesh detail, which Francis says is similar to the finish used on another property he worked on, The College Hill Wine Room in Ponsonby.
Matchbox is on Great South Rd, Penrose. Photo / Supplied
Next week, Matchbox will host a monied charity event of 250 guests, catered for by The Wine Room, featuring the best from All Black Beauden Barrett's exclusive wine club Beau Jour.
The members' entrance and lounge has been curated by interior designer Heather Walker of Cocohills design store in Remuera.
Walker tells Society Insider she understood the pair's vision from day one and set about sourcing and collating the best of materials from SCE Stone, Forte Flooring and top fabric, furniture and lighting suppliers she works with.
'I had most items custom-made to ensure a cohesive and bespoke look and feel was created for Matchbox's discerning members.
'The end result is the perfect place to relax, have a drink and admire your beloved car stacked alongside quality company.'
Bespoke goes next level as Filipchich explains the car stacking equipment, which fits up to four cars, was commissioned to local suppliers. The charcoal-painted electric hydraulic system features leak trays and drive-on trays that are rubber-edged so as not to scratch the floors of the facility.
The members' lounge and storage facility. Photo / Supplied
Matchbox is described as "a club where passion, expertise, and a shared love for motoring help create lasting connections". Photo / Supplied
Such is the detail, Filipchich didn't want unseemly painted bolts on the bottom of the hydraulic systems, each bolt has 3D printed caps.
'Many of our customers treat cars like artwork, in fact some prefer to come and see their cars here than at home,' says Filipchich.
Many of their members may have multi-car garages, some that revolve, but Matchbox gives them somewhere for their favourites.
He shows Society Insider the car cleaning facility and proudly opens a side room with an Aladdin's cave of car grooming products, which members can use.
'Some members are like me and find calm and pride from cleaning their car,' says Filipchich.
'This is not just a place to store cars – it's a club where passion, expertise, and a shared love for motoring help create lasting connections,' says Francis.
Sam Watson's multimillion-dollar psychedelic journey
The son of former Rich Lister Eric Watson has taken the success of his CBD oil business and turned his focus to MDMA.
Sam Watson is the managing director of Australian therapeutics giant Bioxyne, which he says recently delivered its first batch of Australia's first approved medical MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, and psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms, that produce effects similar to LSD.
In 2023, Australia became the first country to classify psychedelics as medicines at a national level.
It approved access to MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.
Sam Watson is getting into the business of MDMA. Photo / Breathe Life Sciences website
Bioxyne's subsidiary Breathe Life Sciences – started by Watson – was then awarded Australia's first good manufacturing practice licence to manufacture the drugs, with trials said to start soon.
Watson, Eric's first son, spent his early years in Auckland before mixing with London's elite when he joined his father who relocated to Britain in the mid-2000s.
Watson dotes on his three half-brothers, which Eric has with his partner, Swedish model Lisa Henrekson.
Watson went on to earn a BSc in Finance and Economics at the New York University Stern School of Business.
Meanwhile, his father has had negative headlines for more than a decade from his legal stoush with Sir Owen Glenn, which landed him in prison in 2020 for contempt of court. More drama followed with the United States regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, investigating him for alleged insider trading.
Sam Watson has stayed in London and is said to be making tens of millions out of CBD.
In 2018, he started therapeutics company Breathe Life Sciences, which investigates psychotropic medicines for mental health.
Four years ago, Society Insider highlighted his successful London-based CBD business, Dr. Watson – a subsidiary of BLS. His uncle, Dr Richard Watson, an agricultural research scientist, was the chief scientific adviser for the company.
Sam Watson and his uncle Richard Watson, who together started a CBD company called Dr. Watson. Photo / Supplied
It was a family affair – Henrekson also modelled for the brand.
Since then, Watson has taken his psychedelic trip global and Downunder.
In 2023, BLS merged with Bioxyne and Watson was made CEO at age 29, becoming the youngest CEO of an Australian publicly listed company.
This month, in an update to the Australian Securities Exchange, Watson said Bioxyne finished the 2025 financial year in style with 200% growth, making A$28m ($30.2m).
Last month in a Bioxyne investment video, Watson said that in the past 12 months the company had delivered one million medical cannabis flowers, oils, capsules, vapes and pastilles to market.
Bioxyne manufactures in Britain, Japan and the Czech Republic. In Australia, it delivers to pharmacies, clinics and distributors.
Watson said Australia has one of the most advanced cannabis markets in the world, saying it is valued at A$1 billion and is growing rapidly. He says that at the company's state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Brisbane, it can manufacture A$100m worth of cannabis per year. It has tripled its manufacturing capabilities over the past six months. Its most popular product, pastilles (gummies), contributes to A$50m of that.
Watson's father, businessman Eric Watson. Photo / Greg Bowker
Polo power couple's fab Oz life
Sydney socialites are getting excited about a new event brought to the city by our most famous Kiwi polo player.
Sam Hopkinson played on the international polo circuit and was sometimes in action alongside members of the British royal family.
Now living in Sydney, Hopkinson and wife Elisha are an Australian polo power couple.
The pair met in the city over a decade ago, when Hopkinson was playing.
Elisha is the CEO of iconic fashion brand Sportscraft and the daughter of multi-millionaire Australian apparel titan Andrew Marshall.
Kiwi polo player Sam Hopkinson and wife Elisha. Photo / Supplied
Marshall is the chairman of Marshall Investments and APG & Co, which owns brands well known on both sides of the Tasman, including Sportscraft, Saba and Jag.
The couple live in Sydney's smart lower north shore and spend most weekends with their three young girls at Elisha's family's famous Kurri Burri Polo Club in Richmond, 60km northwest of the city.
Sportscraft is the official apparel sponsor for the 2025 polo season in Australia.
Hopkinson got into polo as a teenager living in Christchurch. His under-17 rugby coach played the sport, favoured by royals and aristocrats, and got him started. He travelled to Britain after finishing school and started playing internationally.
Hopkinson, who featured in Vanity Fair's 'Polo's Hottest Horsemen' in 2009, works with Auckland-based Urban Events managing director Simon Wilson.
Karen Walker and Urban Events managing director Simon Wilson at the Auckland Urban Polo. Photo / Supplied
Wilson started Urban Polo in Auckland in 2016, and the events are now held annually in Christchurch in February, Auckland in March and Singapore in May.
As Urban Events executive director, Hopkinson has been instrumental in bringing Urban Polo's F3 style of the game to Australia.
Earlier this year, we reported that the company had purchased the rights to Victoria's famous Portsea Polo, Australia's longest-running polo event on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula, which is held in February. The company is also planning a New York event.
Hopkinson tells Society Insider that Urban Events has now organised a tournament for Sydney in November.
'We are kicking off a new era of polo in Sydney's East at Centennial Park, it's the polo event Sydney has been waiting for.
'We have been passionate about promoting the very best format of the game since we started this journey, and to add another iconic Australian event is another step in the creation of our global series.'
Expect Urban Events' wealthy and well-known shareholders to enjoy the inaugural Aussie action.
Sydney-based Kiwis such as Centuria Capital Australia joint CEO Jason Huljich and Cook Property Group founder Ben Cook will be there. Also expected are their fellow Urban Events shareholders, Centuria Capital NZ CEO Mark Francis, rich list property developer Kurt Gibbons, Forsyth Barr executive director Jonty Edgar and former All Blacks Dan Carter and Ali Williams.
Hopkinson explains Urban Events has partnered with the Australian Polo Federation, which will be able to showcase the best players and horses in the country, taking the Urban Polo events to the elite sporting level they have been working towards.
Last November, the company partnered with TEG Sport, the billion-dollar company behind entertainment and ticketing business Ticketek, to evolve Urban's fast-paced style of polo in the US, Asia and the Middle East.
Party people of the week
Beauden Barrett joins forces with Land Rover
An intimate group of owners, car enthusiasts and cultural insiders gathered in Grey Lynn last Tuesday night to mark the launch of Land Rover's new off-road V8, the Defender Octa, and to celebrate a new partnership with rugby icon Beauden Barrett.
The partnership has been launched through a new content series shot by fashion photographer Chris Sisarich and Subgenre.
The campaign sees Barrett retracing his roots from the gravel roads of Arawhata in the shadow of Mt Taranaki, to the sidelines of Stadium Taranaki. It was shot a few weeks ago on Barrett's birthday, in weather typical of his hometown of Taranaki – rain, hail and sunshine.
Among those in attendance were Jason Domancie from Subgenre Studio, TVNZ's Melodie Robinson, Superette co-founder Rickie Dee, Fearon and Hay's Tim Hay, The Local Project's Cassidy Lockwood, Wonder Group creative director Buster Caldwell, Someday Studios' Milly Hewat-Wall with husband, real estate agent Ollie Wall, chef Tom Hishon, Ensemble's Zoe Walker Ahwa and Rebecca Wadey, alongside VIP Defender customers.
The brand said its partnership reinforces its long-standing commitment to rugby, globally and at a grassroots level, before the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025.
Chris Sisarich and Beauden Barrett at the Defender and Beauden Barrett X launch in Grey Lynn. Photo / Kayle Lawson
Richard Moore, Hannah Whittington-Davis, Laura Furey and Beauden Barrett. Photo / Kayle Lawson
David Linklater, Giltrap Group CEO Steve Kenchington and Damien O'Carroll. Photo / Kayle Lawson
Helen Cherry, Chris Sisarich and Chris Cherry. Photo / Kayle Lawson
Jono Parker and Cassidy Lockwood. Photo / Kayle Lawson
Melodie Robinson and Marcus Wheelhouse. Photo / Kayle Lawson
Glenn Winwood and Tessa Patrick. Photo / Kayle Lawson
La bohème opening night
New Zealand Opera's winter season of La bohème opened recently at Auckland's Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, hosting some very special guests. Now playing in Wellington's St James Theatre until June 22, the opera then travels to Christchurch, opening on July 2 at the Isaac Theatre Royal.
The new production remains true to the bohemian spirit of 'truth, freedom, beauty, love' of Puccini's original opera, while transporting the story to the evocative backdrop of Paris after World War II.
The international and Kiwi cast are accompanied by the Auckland Philharmonia, Orchestra Wellington and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, alongside the Freemasons Foundation NZ Opera Chorus.
Among those who enjoyed opening night were the Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and NZ Opera patrons former Prime Minister Helen Clark and Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson.
Tracy Grant Lord and Karen Walker at La bohème opening night at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Sarah Amos and Matthew Sokolich. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Helen Clark and Joanne Cole. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Hamish Bell and Desley Simpson. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Chris and Nelson Wang. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Michael Stevens and Campbell Parker. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Kawiti Waetford and Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Soni Sandhu's luxe red carpet reveal
Last Saturday evening, Label House by Soni Sandhu rolled out the red carpet for an exclusive showcase of its Winter 2025 Collection, attracting a stylish crowd of around 70 guests to its showroom on Parnell Rd.
Debuting under the theme Winter in Colour, Sandhu showed a bright and bold new direction for the cooler months. Models took to the runway in tailored coats, structured blazer suits, rich tweed pieces and eye-catching sequin dresses.
Among the fans of the brand were podcast host Ali Bond, fashion stylists Michiko Hylands and Megan Robinson, who enjoyed flowing champagne, handcrafted cocktails, and a selection of gourmet canapes, setting the tone for a night that turned from runway to a dancefloor party.
Ali Bond and Andee-Grace Tilling at Soni Sandhu's luxe red carpet reveal. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Megan Robinson and Michiko Hylands. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Designer Soni Sandh. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Chris Bayley and Britt Smith. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Wendy Lang. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Sneha Patil. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Palak and Apar Sethi. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.