TPG Capital Co-Head Joel Thickins Allegedly Crashed BMW, Refused Breath Tests

A corporate titan is alleged to have crashed his BMW into five cars in Sydney's east, before refusing two alcohol-detecting breath tests.

NSW Police allege private equity baron Joel Thickins of TPG Capital hit a Mazda then ploughed into four parked cars on Monday night.

They allege he refused a breath test on the debris-strewn roadside and then a further breath analysis after he was arrested and taken to Paddington Police Station that evening.

The 48-year-old is the co-head of TPG Asia, which manages more than $US23 billion ($32 billion) in assets. He has been the chair of veterinary company Greencross and funeral behemoth InvoCare.

"Multiple bangs" as cars collide

"An almighty crash," is how Adam Corcoran described it.

The resident of York Road in Queens Park, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, heard the commotion on Monday evening, caused by the driver of a BMW i5 — a car that retails for about $170,000.

"Multiple bangs, culminating in the big one that stopped the car from moving," he recalled.

"Two cars further up had been sideswiped, the second of the two had been hit hard, which has ended up smashing into the rear end of a parked car."

All up, three cars were towed, he said, with others having less damage.

"I heard a passer-by in the traffic ask the driver if he was OK. 'Yeah I'm OK,'" Mr Corcoran said he heard.

Shortly afterwards, police arrived.

"We had upwards of half a dozen police officers taking statements. One was verbally instructing the driver not to move too far. [He] seemed to be in OK condition, complying with the police officers."

In a statement, the NSW Police Force said about 7:20pm on Monday, June 1, officers attached to the Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command went to York Road, Queens Park, after reports of a crash.

"Police attended and found a BMW and Mazda had collided before the BMW allegedly crashed into four parked cars.

"The driver of the BMW — a 48-year-old man — allegedly refused a roadside breath test.

"He was arrested and taken to Paddington Police Station for a breath analysis which he allegedly refused."

NSW Police said he would appear before Waverley Local Court on June 30.

When contacted by ABC News, Mr Thickins did not elaborate on the alleged incident.

Asked specifically about the allegation by police that he refused two breath tests to detect the presence of alcohol, he repeated that phrase.

Private equity buys and sells in the billions

Mr Thickins is a major player in the lucrative field of private equity, which sees him managing deals at the top of corporate Australia.

He took on the role of country head for TPG in Australia in 2016, joining from another firm.

TPG has been contacted for comment.

TPG Capital owns companies including Funlab, which is behind brands including Strike bowling centres, Holey Moley mini-golf outlets and Archie Brothers arcade centres.

It also owns pet care behemoth Greencross, behind retailer Petbarn and the Greencross Vet chain, and has previously considered a public offer that would value the chain at $4 billion.

TPG Capital is a privately-held company and has no link to the telecommunications company of the similar name, although a stuff-up by the stock market operator ASX last year confused the two.

The private equity group was engaged in a takeover of a tech company but the ASX got it wrong, linking TPG Telecom to the deal and sparking a stock sell-off, wiping $400 million from the telco's market value, even though it had nothing to do with the transaction.