CJ Wanganui's man of mystery

There are elements of mystery about the man who has large parts of Wanganui's CBD in his grasp - especially about what he does to earn a living.
Chris John Efstratiou, or CJ as he is known in Wanganui - is less than informative on the subject.
He seldom replies to messages, and gives brief answers, if any, to questions. He has only given one interview to the Chronicle, and on that occasion had his lawyer present and strictly controlled the conversation.
Yet he has spent many weeks living in the city, and is well known to some Victoria Ave retailers and stallholders at the River Traders' market.
Central city property owners can tell many a tale of his efforts to buy CBD properties over the past 15 years.
One of them, Albert Sword, owns the two top-most storeys of the Perrett Building, diagonally opposite Majestic Square.
Mr Efstratiou invited him to his office in 2008 to discuss exchanging them for a new two-bedroom apartment in a six-storey building he was planning for across the road, on the former Deka store site.
Mr Sword declined to sell, and was given the impression that he then had 18 months of developer chaos to look forward to, and would lose his city view and privacy when the big building was up.
That never happened, because Mr Efstratiou ended up putting the single-storey ANZ Bank and Whitcoulls buildings on that site.
Builder Patrick O'Donnell counts Mr Efstratiou as a friend and has been to his "beautiful" home in England. He said the developer had done a lot for Wanganui that people haven't appreciated. He was responsible for good modern buildings, and had donated the Tram Shed building to Tramways Wanganui.
"He's a very straight-up guy when you know him, a very honourable guy."
He said the developer was an accountant by training and loved to travel.
Mr Efstratiou owns most of Wanganui's two best central city shopping blocks.
He has been responsible for the demolition of many buildings and has built and tenanted the Postie Plus building, the Briscoes building, the ANZ Bank building and now the Victoria Ave Post Office building and ASB Bank building.
He has consent from Wanganui District Council to demolish 87, 91-93A, 95 and 97 Victoria Ave, with the consent valid until 2014.
The council has approved consent for him to construct "Victoria Mall" complex and screen the car park at 101-105 Victoria Ave.
But no new development in St Hill St/Maria Pl/Victoria Ave - the "Victoria Mall" area - cannot happen until an archaeological investigation takes place on the site and is paid for.
Failing any information from himself, the Chronicle made an internet search for information about Mr Efstratiou.
He was born in London, in 1949, and his parents may have their origins in Cyprus. His connection with Wanganui may have begun in 1976, when he married Jenny Auret, who was born in Kenya, but her family migrated to New Zealand in the 1960s. Her father, John Auret, taught at Wanganui Collegiate and Wanganui Boys' College.
Family members who remain in Wanganui refused to talk about Mr Efstratiou. He and his wife have three children - Marcus, Melissa and Rowena - born between 1979 and 1985.
Their home is a 5ha spread at Chiselhampton Lodge, in Oxfordshire, England.
How Mr Efstratiou earns a living, what investments he has outside Wanganui and how financial he is are much less clear. There are internet references to vehicle businesses - Network Cars, Euromark Cars, Airport Cars, Elite Transportation - and to taxis.
On the property side, he and his wife had Berkeley Walbrook Properties Ltd from 1991 to 1995. Its registered place of business was with Wanganui accountancy firm Silks.
Mr Efstratiou is also known to spend time in South Africa. There could be a Scottish connection too - there's an internet photograph of him at a Clan Hay gathering.
 
CJ EFSTRATIOU
- Born London, 1949.
- Married Jennifer Auret, 1976.
- Three children
- Owns a big slice of central Wanganui.
- Unable to develop empty sites until archaeology done and paid for.
UNKNOWN
- Aside from work as a developer, occupation unknown.
- Financial status unknown.