Applicant
Te Hau Station Limited
Case number(s)
201620101
Decision date
Type
Decision
DecisionConsent granted
Section 12(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005
Decision Date27 June 2017
Investment

An overseas investment in sensitive land, being the Applicant's acquisition of:

  • a freehold interest in 29.9594 hectares of land at various locations at Whatatutu, Gisborne; and
  • a freehold or leasehold interest in 8.8527 hectares of land at various locations at Whatatutu, Gisborne; and
  • a leasehold interest in 15.9092 hectares of land at various locations at Whatatutu, Gisborne.
ConsiderationWithheld under s(9)(2)(b)(ii) of the Official Information Act
ApplicantTe Hau Station Limited
Phillip Maxwell Colebatch, Australia (100.0%)
VendorVarious New Zealand land owners
New Zealand (100%)
Background

The Applicant’s current interests in New Zealand include Te Hau Station (2307 hectares), Wheterua Station (1037 hectares) and other land in Whatatutu (234 hectares). The Applicant’s holding company, Antipodean Lands Limited, also owns another subsidiary company, Moanui Farm Limited, which owns and operates Moanui Station (797 hectares).

The Applicant is acquiring land to replace land that it is selling to Riversun Nursery Limited, one of New Zealand’s leading suppliers of grafted grapevines. Riversun operates a field nursery in Whatatutu and its business is highly susceptible to bad weather. Due to recent weather events, it wants to move all its nursery production to land that is frost and hail protected and intensively sheltered and drained.

The adjoining land is highly suitable and is owned by the Applicant. Riversun is currently leasing that land but wants to purchase it to undertake development of the land. The Applicant does not wish to sell this land to Riversun unless it can replace it with other suitable land in order to continue its farming operations in Whatatutu.

The overseas investment transaction has satisfied the criteria in section 16 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005. The 'substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand' criteria were satisfied by particular reference to the following factors:

Overseas Investment Act 2005
17(2)(a)(i) – Jobs
17(2)(f) – Offer to sell seabed/foreshore/riverbed to the Crown

Overseas Investment Regulations 2005
28(a) – Consequential benefits
28(e) – Previous investments
28(g) – Enhance the viability of other investments

More informationOlivia Macgregor
Tavendale and Partners Limited
PO Box 442
CHRISTCHURCH