Generation Homes opens new offices

Tauranga-based success story Generation Homes is defying the economic slump and opening five new offices throughout New Zealand.

The expansion includes the company's first venture into the South Island, where it will help with the rebuilding of Christchurch.

Once its final office and showhome opens by the end of October, it will bring the number of joint venture partnerships to 15, leaving Hawke's Bay as the only gap in its coverage of the North Island.

The rapidly-growing company was founded 15 years ago by Graham Hockly and David Mansel, and has now built almost 2000 homes in 100 North Island communities.

Generation Homes' latest expansion phase saw an office opened in Manukau last week, with further openings planned for West Auckland and an office to service Coromandel and Waikato's Waipa District.

Company chief executive Kevin Atkinson said the recession had lasted longer than anticipated and put their plans on hold for up to nine months, but they were now geared up and ready to continue their growth strategy.

He said there was a pent-up demand for housing in Auckland which would only gather momentum as the real estate market became tighter. With joint ventures already in Papakura and Orewa, he believed people would be looking to build to fill the housing gap.

Mr Atkinson said the next step was always going to be Canterbury, regardless of opportunities offered by the rebuild. Christchurch was still one of New Zealand's major cities and it was an obvious first choice for the company's expansion into the South Island. Two offices would be opened in the north and south of the city.

Mr Hockly said Generation Homes was the only joint-venture building company in New Zealand. It decided to use joint ventures because it became too hard to manage areas successfully outside of Tauranga. "We decided it would be a good idea to have someone local running the business."

New joint-venture partners put up a license fee plus the first year's working capital. This gave them half ownership of the joint venture and a 50 per cent share of the profits.

In exchange they received an exclusive licence to operate within their area using Generation Homes' building and business management systems.

Generation Homes has a fixed-price promise to build a one-storey home in 14 weeks or a two-storey home in 18 weeks - delivering a package including the letter box, landscaping and trimmings.

The company's joint-venture building model had won numerous awards including the Westpac Tauranga Business Growth Award and the Westpac Supreme Business Award.