In every crisis there are opportunities. For Gregor Gregersen, it was the global financial crisis in 2008 that prompted a pivot in his career. At the time, the former data architect was at Commerzbank, Germany’s second largest bank, building structured products. His expertise in navigating complex data systems and his deep understanding of derivatives gave him a sophisticated view of the financial landscape, including the vulnerabilities and risks inherent in traditional systems.
Recalls Gregersen, “When Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and defaulted on their derivatives obligations, the whole system was about to collapse. It was only massive government bailouts and guarantees that prevented a meltdown that would have wiped out most people’s savings. In my mind, the financial system now is like a house of cards, and I don’t want to be invested in it materially when the next crisis occurs.”
Subsequently, Gregersen moved to Singapore and turned to physical precious metals like gold and silver, which are intrinsically valuable, as an alternative investment avenue. Thinking there might be others like him who see silver’s potential as an undervalued metal, he began importing silver from overseas and started selling silver bars from his bedroom. Gregersen would carry the silver in his backpack and transact with buyers at Aljunied MRT Station. “I built a website with live pricing and inventory,” adds Gregersen in an interview. “A buyer could place an order, meet me with cash in hand and leave with a tax invoice and several bars of silver. The entire process was highly professional – aside from the method of delivery.”
When silver sales rose, Gregersen started a precious metals dealership with a few partners and friends. He named the company: Silver Bullion. Within a year, Silver Bullion hit about SGD800,000 in revenue. It then became clear that he needed a proper office and soon found a space at Centennial Tower. The rapid-fire growth of his company was further fueled by the re-classification of gold and silver bullion as Investment Precious Metals (IPM) by the Singapore government in 2012, prompting more purchases as Goods and Services Tax (GST) became exempted for these assets.
Singapore’s GST exemption on investment-grade precious metals encouraged foreign buying and storing of bullion in the country. Clients began requesting storage solutions for large amounts of holdings. Gregersen promptly started the company’s storage program, storing clients’ bullion with third-party vaults. Soon, he came to realize that most vaults do not provide sufficient safeguards for clients seeking wealth protection.
Unable to find a third-party vault that provided exceptional insurance coverage, bullion testing, and protection from potential governmental confiscation acts, Gregersen proceeded to build The Safe House, his own 630-ton capacity precious metals vault in 2014 despite having no prior vault operating experience.
The Safe House turned out to be a success. It raised the bar in precious metal storage, offering unmatched transparency, insurance, bullion testing and control systems in the industry. Bullions are stored on a segregated ownership basis and audited quarterly by third-party specie inspectors and the company’s auditor. The facility also boasts robust physical security measures, including multiple layers of access controls, auxiliary police armed protection, and round-the-clock surveillance.
In 2015, Gregersen launched a bullion-secured peer-to-peer (P2P) loan platform to facilitate collateralised borrowing and lending among customers. This service was a success as it gave precious metals owners the option to unlock liquidity from their stored assets. As news of this P2P loan platform grew, the service attracted more bullion owners to transfer their gold and silver into The Safe House vault. By 2020, The Safe House ran out of space.
Gregersen is now building a bigger vaulting space, called The Reserve. The 180,000 sqft building in Changi Business Park will house one of the highest capacity vaults for the storage of gold and silver in the world. Part of the 15,000-ton capacity vault could also be used to store other high-value rare industrial metals such as indium and germanium, which have become increasingly sought after by companies that need to secure a long-term supply and are too valuable to leave in unsecured warehouses.
Beyond precious metals, The Reserve will extend its storage and transaction facilities to art, luxury timepieces and other valuable assets. Horologists can look forward to bonded, tax-free, specialty vaults for luxury timepieces through watch specialist The Xcess, which will also operate a brand-recognised atelier at The Reserve to authenticate, maintain and collateralise high-end timepieces at around 6% per annum.
Needless to say, Silver Bullion’s back offices and development teams will find a new home at The Reserve, which comes with authentication labs, exclusive VIP lounges, meeting rooms and offices for members, wealth managers and clients. The facility is permitted to host art auctions and has the catering capacity to hold exclusive events for up to 120 people.
“The Reserve is a project that we have been planning for several years,” says Gregersen. “We are very excited to bring it to life by late 2023 and showcase all of its offerings to new and existing customers.”
