Goodman to discuss concerns with trustee

John Dakin, chief executive of the Goodman Property Trust. Photo / Richard Robinson

The country's largest listed property trust has called for a meeting with its trustee Perpetual over concerns about an investigation by the Financial Markets Authority into related party lending from two funds Perpetual oversees.

Goodman Property Trust chief executive John Dakin said the company had initiated a meeting with Perpetual, which is in charge of protecting the interests of unitholders for Goodman's billion-dollar fund.

Perpetual, owned by listed Pyne Gould Corporation, was forced to temporarily stop redemptions in its Perpetual Mortgage Fund last week and has had accountants WHK appointed to oversee its actions after its statutory supervisor, Trustees Executors, raised concerns with the FMA over a $28 million loan to another Pyne Gould business.

Perpetual is also facing a please explain request from the Trustee Corporations Association.

Dakin said he had asked to have the meeting with Perpetual ahead of Goodman's annual general meeting, on August 7 in Christchurch.

"We have initiated a meeting to discuss any implications for them in terms of their role for us. Depending on the outcome of that we will make a decision on what, if anything, we need to talk to unitholders about."

Dakin said he needed to sit down with Perpetual and understand the implications of what was going on between it and Pyne Gould.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure how that whole business interacts. We want to understand that before we can comment properly."

Dakin said a decision on whether to continue using Perpetual would come down to their ability to perform their role within the context of what was going on in the broader business.

According to the Trustee Corporations Association, Perpetual looks after the interests for $19 billion of investors' money. Goodman is thought to be one of its largest clients.