| Decision | Consent granted retrospectively Section 12(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005 |
|---|---|
| Decision Maker | Overseas Investment Office |
| Decision Date | 7 March 2018 |
| Investment | An overseas investment in sensitive land, being the Applicant's acquisition of a freehold interest in 1.9461 hectares of land at 15 Lady Ruby Drive, East Tamaki, Auckland. |
| Consideration | $7,800,000 |
| Applicant | New Zealand Window Shades Limited Ralph Sonnenberg, Netherlands (39.7782%) Lance Colston Mitchell, New Zealand (25.5%) Barrie Gordon Mitchell, New Zealand (20.4%) Various overseas persons (9.2218%) Ellis Mitchell, New Zealand (5.1%) |
| Vendor | Amway of New Zealand United States (100%) |
| Background | New Zealand Window Shades Limited (NZWSL) entered an agreement to purchase land for use as warehouse, manufacturing and office space in February 2012. That agreement was not conditional on NZWSL receiving consent under the Act. NZWSL has recently identified that it required consent for the Investment and has sought retrospective consent. We consider that the Investment has been, and is likely to continue to be, of benefit to New Zealand. The Investment has enabled NZWSL to reduce lead times from customer order to dispatch and is likely to result in NZWSL moving manufacturing of some window coverings products to New Zealand. NZWSL’s previous investments in New Zealand has also resulted in benefits to New Zealand. NZWSL currently employs approximately 100 staff in New Zealand and produces a range of window coverings products in New Zealand. |
| More information | Alan Lear Barrister |
| Retrospective penalty | $10,000.00 |