| Decision | Consent Granted Section 12(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 3 May 2010 |
| Investment | An overseas investment in sensitive land, being the Applicant's acquisition of a freehold interest in 8.0960 hectares of land at 239 New Renwick Rd, Blenheim. |
| Consideration | $1,200,000 |
| Applicant | Wither Hills Vineyards Marlborough Limited United States of America (100%) Japanese Public (79.09%) United States Public (11.08%) United Kingdom Public (4.69%) Various, Various (1.5%) Australian Public (0.9%) Luxembourg Public (0.74%) Irish Public (0.54%) French Public (0.49%) Belgium Public (0.36%) Swiss Public (0.31%) Dutch Public (0.18%) German Public (0.12%) |
| Vendor | Brendan John Lynsky, as executor of the estate of Raymond William Lynsky (100.0%) |
| Background | The Applicant operates the Wither Hills Vineyard and Winery in Marlborough and is a major producer of wine in New Zealand, producing 450,000 cases of wine annually, 200,000 of which is Wither Hills’ branded product. The Applicant has plans to grow over the next five years to a business producing 1,000,000 cases of wine annually. To accommodate the expansion of the Wither Hills operations, the Applicant plans to extend its production site in order to achieve the increase in sales. The acquisition of the land provides the Applicant with an additional 6.5 hectares of grapes which reduces the need for the Applicant to source additional grapes from third party grape growers. The overseas investment transaction has satisfied the criteria in sections 16 and 18 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 Overseas Investment Regulations 2005 |
| More information | Greg Thompson Chris Linwood |