The Australian Financial Review reported on Thursday that a senior manager at Mr Gurner’s wellness and anti-ageing network Saint Haven had sought to assure staff that their founders’ comments were not directed at them.

“I want to start by saying I’ve had the pleasure of working with Tim for almost two years now and can hand on heart say that his care and love for both the Gurner Group and Saint Haven team is immense,” the manager reportedly said, adding that Mr Gurner’s comments “were in no way directed at our teams”.

Gurner Group says its development and management portfolio is worth more than $9.5 billion.

Previous ‘smashed avocado’ comments were also slammed

Mr Gurner was criticised by many in 2017 when he suggested first homebuyers were struggling to enter the property market because they were “spending $40 a day on smashed avocados and coffee and not working”.