Local business, capital raises, QLD-listed stocks and Brisbane venture news.
Blackbird led the round with follow-on from Investible and a strategic $2M from Queensland Investment Corporation — the QUT-adjacent lab expands headcount from 18 to 48 across the next 12 months, with a new clinical-trial-management arm launching Q2 2027. Announcement was made Tuesday 16 September at the Melbourne Startmate summit; Neuromersiv co-founder Dr Lucy Marks confirmed the raise values the company at $58M post-money. Their VR-based neurology rehab platform is now in five Australian hospitals plus two in Singapore, with $4.2M in annualised recurring revenue. The Series B is already being scoped for Q4 2027 at an expected $30-40M range, targeting NASDAQ ADR listing by 2029.
Read more →
Home-insurance renewals up 8.4% year-on-year, gross written premium of $6.3B across the group for the half — broker consensus lifted materially on the back of a tighter reinsurance market and disciplined claims-handling in North Queensland after Cyclone Marnie in February. Shares closed 3.4% up on Friday's ASX close ($16.42), with UBS lifting its 12-month target to $18.10 (Buy) and Macquarie upgrading from Neutral to Outperform at $18.40. Dividend was held at $0.34 fully franked ex-date 3 October, with the board flagging a modest special dividend at the full-year mark subject to peril season. This is a company back in favour with the domestic long-only funds after 18 months in the wilderness.
Read more →
Cut Through Venture's Q3 data drop this Tuesday lands Brisbane as Australia's third-most-active startup capital by deal count, ahead of Adelaide for the sixth consecutive quarter — 34 completed rounds July-September versus 27 in the same window last year. Total dollar value into Brisbane startups this quarter is $186M, dominated by the Neuromersiv Series A and a $22M Series B for climate-tech ClimateAI. The gap to Melbourne is closing: Melbourne recorded 61 rounds ($430M), still leading, but the growth rate has slowed to 8% year-on-year versus Brisbane's 26%. Watch this space through the next two quarters — QIC and Blackbird are actively deploying more capital into the Queensland corridor.
Read more →
Two syndicates lodged investment briefs this week with Brisbane wholesale investor lists. First is a Fortitude Valley grade-B office building at 620m² net lettable area, 100% tenanted by a five-year lease to a Queensland Government agency, 7.2% net yield forecast, $8.5M raise (units at $50K each), IRR target 11.4% over five years — sponsor is Placer Capital. Second is a Sunshine Coast small-format retail development (Buderim), 4,200m² GLA, 6.8% net yield, $12M raise (units at $100K), pre-committed anchor is Woolworths metro, closes 15 October. Both are wholesale-investor-only, minimum ticket $50K and $100K respectively. AFSL licence checks on both sponsors are green as of this week's due diligence.
Read more →
Model portfolios shift back to defensive weightings this month, with consumer staples (Woolworths, Coles, Endeavour Group) and utilities (Origin, AGL, APA) both getting sector-rotation lifts from Brisbane-headquartered SMSF advisers. Reasoning cited in a Wilson Advisory member survey: post-budget tax adjustments in September's federal update, plus a modest cash weighting increase (3% target lifted to 5%) for readiness ahead of Q1 2027 volatility around US Fed policy uncertainty. International equity weighting has trimmed slightly from 32% to 29% average. Fixed income allocations to A-REITs have flatlined; the sector is off the buy-lists after a rough September for interest-rate sensitive names.
Read more →
Local spot-BTC ETFs crossed $2.1B in funds under management this week — a 22% quarter-on-quarter jump — and Brisbane-based broker Selfwealth reports its strongest weekly BTC-ETF inflow since the November 2025 launch. The three-fund concentration remains: Betashares BTC ETF (48% share), VanEck (34%), and Global X (18%). Notable — retail flows are now outpacing institutional 3:1, reversing the pattern seen through early 2026. Advisers report younger clients (25-40) using the ETF as a first crypto exposure over direct wallet-and-key custody. Regulatory conditions are stable through September's ASIC bulletin, with no reactive rulings expected before Q1 2027 review.
Read more →
