Overseas investment decision for case 200810050 - ElderCare Life Care Limited

The application has been approved as it met the criteria.

The Overseas Investment Office is satisfied that the individuals with control of the Applicant collectively have business experience and acumen relevant to the overseas investment, and that the Applicant has demonstrated financial commitment towards the overseas investment.

The Overseas Investment Office is further satisfied that each individual that exercises control over the Applicant is of good character and is not an individual of the kind referred to in section 7(1) of the Immigration Act 1987.

Background to the Investment:
The Applicant intends to acquire and develop further aged care facilities in New Zealand to provide high-class facilities to cope with increasing demand. The Applicant currently owns Cargill Home in Invercargill which is adjacent to Cargill Court Lodge.

Outline of the Investment:
The Applicant proposes to acquire the business assets of the three properties: the Longwood Facility, the Windsor Facility, and Cargill Court Lodge for a consideration of $12,850,000 (Facilities). All the property is part of a unit title development and is used for the operation of retirement villages.

Rationale for the Investment:
The Applicant intends to continue operating the Facilities in substantially the same way as they are currently operated. In respect of the Cargill Court facility, the Applicant intends to register it under the Retirement Villages Act 2003 and integrate it with the Applicant's adjacent Cargill Home facility.

Once the Applicant has become more familiar with the Facilities' business and operations, it intends to develop plans for additional capital investment in order to facilitate growth and to improve productivity. At this stage, no firm plan has been established and no amount identified for capital investment.

A key driver for the proposed investment is to continue to increase the economy of scale of the Applicant's aged care investments in New Zealand. The Applicant aims to exceed the Ministry of Health's Health and Disability Sector Standards and to achieve this it needs an appropriate economy of scale to ensure the investment as a whole is commercially sustainable.

The proposed overseas investment is or is likely to benefit New Zealand (or any part of it or group of New Zealanders) having regard to the following benefits:

Overseas Investment Act 2005:
s17(2)(e) -Public access to relevant land.

Overseas Investment Regulations 2005:
r28(c) - Adversely affect New Zealand's image overseas.
r28(b) - Key person in a key industry from a country with which New Zealand would benefit from improved relations.
r28(e) - Previous investments.
r28(f) - Advance significant government policy or strategy.
r28(g) - Enhance ongoing viability or previous investments.