Sophie Douez

The Daily Planet: Hopes to raise between $10 million and $20 million.

Brothel may be listed on ASX

Melbourne's largest legal brothel, the Daily Planet, may soon be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The multi-million-dollar business would be the first brothel in Australia to publicly raise capital.

The plan, still in its formative stages, aims to establish a unit trust under the umbrella of the Daily Planet's owners, Metropolis City Promotions.

The move comes six years after the plan was first mooted and aims to raise between $10 million and $20 million to enable the business to expand into commercial property investments and increased services for the corporate market, such as escorts.

The extra funds would also be used to restructure the owner's debt and asset holdings.

Daily Planet manager Pat Lowry said that although brothel ownership was regulated under the Prostitution Control Act, the Daily Planet believed the legislation did not prevent the creation of a unit trust that owned the brothel.

He said MCP aimed to issue the trust within three months of an indication from the State Government that it would not obstruct the plan.

But he said a stock exchange float would be several months after.

"I can't see why the government would oppose this," he said.

"It's a good business, which is looking to diversify its investor base, which is healthy."

Mr Lowry said the business was interested in attracting small investors, including the 100 contracted prostitutes on its books.

He said MCP had not yet made a representation to the ASX, and was investigating issuing an online prospectus to ensure efficient public access.

The Daily Planet operates 18 rooms. The law restricts most brothels to six rooms.

Clients typically pay $220 an hour for a prostitute's services, with up to 40 prostitutes working at any one time on Friday and Saturday nights.