ABOUT MICHAEL
Michael Kukulka
Michael Kukulka is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Australian Gold Capital, a national precious-metals group with operations across Australia.
WHERE IT STARTED
From a Melbourne garage
Michael’s journey in precious metals began with Cash for Old Gold, a mail-in website that allowed customers to send unwanted gold jewellery for assessment and sale. As the business grew, around ten packages of jewellery were arriving at his parents’ home each day.
Michael took over his father’s shed and converted it into a small workspace, where he assessed the jewellery and melted the gold into bars. Toll would then collect the consolidated gold for refining by EBS & Associates in Sydney.
At the same time, Michael was sourcing additional gold through eBay, purchasing jewellery online and consolidating it for refining.
At its busiest, Australia Post was delivering around 20 packages a day from the website and eBay combined – an unusual but important beginning for what would eventually become a national precious-metals business.
FIRST STEPS
From the garage to the first store
The business soon expanded beyond mail-order buying. Michael introduced a mobile gold-buying service and drove throughout Melbourne meeting customers, acid-testing jewellery and buying gold directly.
The next step was a physical store. Michael opened the first Cash for Old Gold shop in Westgarth, Northcote.
The location was deliberate: the idea was to capture customers travelling towards Melbourne’s CBD from the northern suburbs and along the Eastern Freeway corridor.
What had started as packages of jewellery arriving at his parents’ home had become a bricks-and-mortar precious-metals business.
EXPANSION
Expanding to Queensland
After establishing the Melbourne operation, Michael expanded the business interstate, opening Brisbane Gold Buyers in Annerley, Queensland.
The Brisbane location represented an important step in the growth of the business beyond Victoria and the development of a broader precious-metals network.
The original Annerley location continues to operate today, connecting the early expansion of the business with the national network that would eventually become Australian Gold Capital.
A NEW CHAPTER
The beginning of Melbourne Gold Company
Following the major gold boom of the period, Michael retired the Cash for Old Gold brand and relocated the Melbourne operation to 227 Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD.
The move laid the foundation for Melbourne Gold Company.
The Collins Street location remains Melbourne Gold Company’s home today and has become the flagship store of the Australian Gold Capital group.
From these foundations, the network continued to expand. Brisbane Gold Company, Geelong Gold Company and further specialist retail stores followed as the business established a presence in markets around Australia.
15+ Years
in precious metals
Over more than 15 years, Michael has operated through gold-refining booms, exceptional bullion demand, silver shortages, major precious-metal price movements, COVID lockdowns, staffing challenges and supply-chain disruption.
Through those changes, the business has continued to develop and expand across Australia’s precious-metals market.
15+
Years of industry experience
National presence
From refining gold to AGC bullion
What began with processing and refining scrap gold developed into a broader gold and silver bullion range.
What started with a single 1oz AGC gold bar gradually expanded into a comprehensive range of gold and silver bullion products across multiple sizes.
Today, AGC’s minted bullion range carries the distinctive bee branding used across the group’s bullion products.
AUSTRALIAN GOLD CAPITAL
Founder & CEO of Australian Gold Capital
Michael founded Australian Gold Capital to bring the group’s precious-metals businesses together under a national brand.
Today, the group brings together Michael’s experience across gold buying, refining, bullion and specialist retail operations, with businesses serving customers in markets across Australia.
As Founder and CEO, Michael remains closely involved in the group’s operations, bullion products and continued expansion, drawing on more than 15 years of experience across precious-metals refining, bullion trading and specialist retail operations.
