The vendor has national operations in the funeral sector and is listed on the ASX. Photo / 123RF
The vendor has national operations in the funeral sector and is listed on the ASX. Photo / 123RF
A global business has won consent to buy $100 million-plus of New Zealand funeral home, burial, cremation and related assets.
The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) this afternoon released decision summaries via Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand showing deals approved.
In the funeral sector, foreign entity Eternal Aus HoldCocan buy funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria in New Zealand from Australia’s InvoCare.
Eternal is 26 per cent Singaporean-owned, 15 per cent United Arab Emirates-owned and 12 per cent Canadian-owned, and the rest is in South Korea, the United States, China and other foreign hands.
InvoCare is listed on the ASX, trading around A$12.69 today, and says in New Zealand, it “brings together” nearly 250 funeral professionals.
“When the family of the deceased is faced with the great grief of losing a loved one, InvoCare provides them with high-quality funeral, cemetery and related services to bring spiritual comfort to the living,” says the business, the head offices of which are on Shortland Street.
Auckland businesses it owns include Morrisons Funerals, H Morris Funeral Services - established in 1933 - Forrest Funeral Services and Resthaven Funerals, but it has national operations and offers environmentally friendly funerals, sells headstones and monuments and offers “value cremations”.
“InvoCare is the market leader in funeral and related services in Asia Pacific. In addition, InvoCare is also developing its business in the United States,” the business said.
Auckland, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, Napier, Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin are areas where it has operations and assets.
The OIO said the buyer was ultimately owned by funds managed or advised by TPG Capital Asia or its related entities, and the sum involved was “in excess of $100m”.
Fletcher deal approved
The house development arm of NZX and ASX-listed Fletcher Building has won approval to buy two blocks of land on Auckland’s outskirts for 265 new homes.
Fletcher Residential, headed by Steve Evans, can buy land in South Auckland and Swanson for residential construction.
The largest deal saw approval granted for the company to buy 3.1 hectares at 231 Flat Bush School Rd for $21m.
There, Fletcher will build 168 new homes in three stages, including 523 KiwiBuild places. That vendor is the Crown, in the name of His Majesty the King.
Steve Evans from Fletcher Residential stands at the construction site on the old Winstone Quarry off Mt Eden Road, Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker
In a second decision, the OIO granted consent for Fletcher to buy 8ha at Barrel Cres and William Calvert Dr, Swanson from Neil Construction for $8.2m. It intends to build 34 places there.
In 2019, Fletcher Residential had approval to buy up to 200ha of residential land in up to 12 transactions. The company could otherwise have been banned under the foreign buyer ban, introduced last decade. Fletcher is 21 per cent New Zealand-owned but 54 per cent Australian, with 24 per cent held in the hands of other foreigners.
This is the 12th acquisition of land under the standing consent, the OIO said today.
Other deals approved
British-owned Bupa Retirement Villages won consent to buy 2.6ha of land in Palmerston North for $2.6m. Bupa plans to expand its existing adjacent Riverstone Village. The land is now residential and used for a gardening business.
Cloudy Bay Vineyards, 66 per cent French-owned, won consent to buy 10ha of Marlborough land from Whitey Investments in a deal where the price was kept secret. Cloudy Bay is well-known for its sauvignon blanc, which represents about 80 per cent of its annual production.
Around 98 per cent of the wine produced here by that label is exported. Cloudy Bay is owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA and Diageo PLC, a British business.
The winemaker wants to expand sauvignon blanc vines, so needed the neighbour’s place.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
